GirlCode South Africa has teamed up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offer a free joint learnership training program aimed at 30 unemployed women interested in pursuing a career in technology and information technology.
The program, dubbed GirlCode’s Software Development Learnership, aims to develop and encourage female talent in the tech industry.
The program began on April 1, 2021, and was held in Midrand. Selected participants will participate in a 12-month free program at the GirlCode campus in Johannesburg, where they will attend regular work-simulation sessions.
According to Zandile Mkhwanazi, the CEO of GirlCode, “The tragic truth of this ostensibly positive result is that talented young minds are sitting at home, unable to function or research. It’s also worth noting that this effectively means that businesses are handing over potential intellectual property that could be used to develop new solutions for the industry and our country.”
AWS South Africa’s Head of Education, Linda Siso, also stated that, “according to recent study, 32.2 percent of South African women were unemployed at the end of 2020, indicating that women are disproportionately affected by unemployment in the nation. Opportunities for education and ability growth, such as GirlCode’s Software. Development Learnership is key to bridging the divide between rich and poor in our society.”
GirlCode received 50 000 applications for its new program but only 30 were chosen to participate.
Participants will work on practical tasks while gaining useful insight into how to use applicable tech and technologies in the software space, with an emphasis on an introduction to cloud-based computing and AWS tools.
Participants will focus on career skills such as interview preparation, informative advice on handling compensation negotiations, feedback on how to grow one’s personal brand, and assistance with CVs, covering letters, and learners’ LinkedIn profiles during the program.
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