A new programme championing those excluded from the big-budget world of app design could totally revolutionise the South African tech arena.
Aptly called The Winds of Change, the development programme will work with 15 students (both matriculants and non-matriculants aged between 18 and 23) and put them through training to learn to develop their own apps.
The developed apps will then be put on major app platforms such as Google Play and the iTunes store, where the public can buy into their app developments. Graduates who successfully complete the programme will then also be partnered with corporates operating in tech, where the students can use their skills.
The programme has been established by tech company Neutrinos, which just opened its Johannesburg office, to join their existing bases in Singapore and India.
"There is a massive skills shortage in the ICT sector, and although it is one of South Africa's top employers, the demand for skilled workers is not being met," says Neutrinos CEO Samik Ghosh. "Through the Winds of Change initiative, we seek to eradicate poverty by empowering people with various skills such as coding. To start off with, we will be taking 15 underprivileged youth between the ages of 18 and 23, of any gender, with or with a matric qualification -- but must have the hunger and passion to excel."
Check out the platform online and see if you have what it takes to be South Africa's next Steve Jobs.