NAIROBI, Kenya, May 28 – Over 40 Junior Tech Professionals (JTP) graduated from the Digital Apprentice Program that saw them get equipped for the job market.
Among those who graduated, about 52 percent were absorbed in the companies they were training in.
The Digital Apprenticeship Program is a pilot program implemented by EldoHub and Thunderbird School of Global Management (Arizona State University) supported by the UK Kenya Tech Hub to help respond to barriers to decent employment which includes the availability of skilled employees among the youth and demand by business to hire.
The aim of the program was to provide JTPs with real industry experience, linkages to mentors, and training to help them complete projects and build confidence.
Magdaline Chepkemoi, program Director and Founder of EldoHub says JTPS created and delivered projects such as mobile applications, digital marketing campaigns, websites, CRMs, data analysis among others.
“They were further matched with industry mentors from tech corporates across Kenya, including Safaricom, Liquid Telecom, GSMA among others to help them with the softer elements of working in a business. Thunderbird School of Global Management provided training on soft skills under the Transformational Digital Leadership Certificate Program,” she said.
For the businesses, the apprentices addressed an identified pain point and demonstrated first-hand how digitization could improve their businesses, particularly with the impacts of Covid 19.
“Many businesses have reported that they have been able to digitize their business processes, increase their online presence, expand their customer reach and develop new methods of extracting insights from data for decision making,” she added.
The pilot program was well received with over 500 JTP applications received across 40 out of 47 counties. JTPs were recruited into the program, translating to acceptance rate of 7 percent.
“Through the program, there has been a notable increase in recognition and awareness of apprenticeship as a valid route for employment. This was demonstrated by a commendable number of corporates and businesses which were willing to commit and partner in the program,” Chepkemoi noted.
