Zwart Talent Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that bridges the growing tech talent gap, has launched to train young Africans in relevant Information Technology skills to enable them to participate in the global workforce. 

Technology jobs in the United States outnumbered qualified workers by about 3 million as of 2016, according to a report by Randstad NV, a Netherlands-based human resources consulting firm. 

By 2030, there will be a global shortage of more than 85 million tech workers, representing $8.5 trillion in lost annual revenue, according to Korn Ferry. 

The Korn Ferry report projected that among the economies expected to be hit hardest are Brazil, Indonesia, and Japan, which could face shortages of up to 18 million workers. The United States and Russia are expected to be short of 6 million workers each, while China could face a deficit of 12 million. There is a serious shortage of tech talents across the world.

Zwart Talent Foundation, an initiative of ZwartTech, in partnership with TBEC Group of Companies, and International Sustainable Education Foundation (ISEF) plans to close this gap by training more than 2,000 young Africans in ICT skills in the next 5 years and connect them to jobs in international companies. The Foundation will deliver on these objectives via Zwart Academy, Zwart Recruit and Zwart Hub.

The Zwart Academy will train youths in Cybersecurity and Javascript for six months for free. Upon completion of the training program, students go through a one-year internship with Zwart Tech. Future courses will include PYTHON, Microsoft .NET, PHP/LARAVEL, Graphics Design, UI, and UX Design.

As an edtech cum social impact startup, 70% of admissions into the Academy will be reserved for girls. Meanwhile, applications to join the Academy will open in September and classes start in October.

Zwart Recruit will match top-notch tech experts with international opportunities. The startup has a pool of highly skilled and well-trained IT experts who have completed the rigorous recruitment process and are ready to provide world-class tech services. If you are a senior IT expert, you can apply to join Zwart Recruit.

Zwart Hub is a tech business incubator that aims to support entrepreneurs to start, grow and scale their business to a world-class level.

The Chairman of Zwart Talent Foundation, Nelson Tosin Ajulo said: “We launched the Zwart Talent Foundation to help Africans quickly combat poverty by giving them the chance to acquire tech skills as well as connecting them to international job opportunities. This will enable them to earn more and boost their economic status. 

“We have also realised that the quality of ICT education in Africa is inadequate. Considering this, students who join the Foundation will become Junior Developers in less than 3 years compared to attending a university and spending four or five years on the same course.

“Our approach is not only innovative, but it also saves time and will help tackle inequality faster, bridging gaps between social classes. The Academy training program involves a lot of practicals and it is free.”