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Tech companies are facing an unprecedented — and well-known — talent shortage.
Christina Huppi
Christina is the Higher Education Program Manager at GitLab, where she leads the GitLab for Education Program. She brings over 20 years of experience at the intersection of teaching, learning and technology. She is passionate about connecting industry with higher education, preparing the next generation for success in today’s workforce. She has extensive experience building programs and strategies to increase technology adoption in the broader higher education ecosystem.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey 2020 reports that 55% of companies surveyed identify skills gaps in the local labor market as a major barrier to adopting new technologies. After decades of discussions about improving diversity and inclusion in the tech industry in the United States and globally, many organizations have come to the conclusion that outdated practices and hiring standards are holding the industry back from reaching its true potential.
The time has come for the tech industry to re-evaluate hiring practices and develop new, more accessible pipelines for talent, enhance inclusivity, and generate more sustainable in-demand talent.
GitLab has partnered with WeThinkCode, a South African-based non-profit coding academy that trains future software engineers in a 20-month free program. Sponsored by local corporations in ICT and various industries, the program prepares young Africans from underrepresented communities for full-time employment at tech companies.
Shy Samushonga
Nyari is the CEO of WeThinkCode at the South African Academy of Technology. As an entrepreneur and technology executive, Nyari is passionate about seeing Africa take its place as a technology superpower. She accelerated the recruitment of female students to parity within the academy, doubled employability and developed a local curriculum for the South African market.
Entering the technology field opens up a world of opportunities for young people from marginalized communities, especially in South Africa where youth unemployment is over 60 percent.
Despite the opportunity that the tech industry offers, in many cases, these people don’t even know that they can find jobs in tech companies. Additionally, it can be challenging for them to find roles without any university degree, which is often cost-effective.
Although graduating from a top college or university may seem like the only way to adequately prepare for a role, the rate at which tech-savvy graduates are entering the workforce is not keeping up with market demand. Today, in the tech industry, there are new alternative or non-traditional education systems like WeThinkCode that help meet the growing demand for tech talent.
It’s imperative that tech companies big and small start investing in talent pipelines at the grassroots level. This is two-fold: While there is a moral responsibility for enterprises to open doors to the technology-rich, ever-evolving and opportunity-filled world of technology, there is also a business case when considering how tech companies can contribute. to a talent pool that may one day join their ranks and contribute positively to the company’s growth.
Let’s explore some of the benefits of non-traditional learning, how companies can better engage emerging talent, and some key pillars of skill-based training programs.
The benefits of a non-traditional background
For years, a four-year degree in computer science was the bare minimum to enter the technology industry. Although university education is comprehensive and provides the basic knowledge for technology workers, it is important to acknowledge that a large portion of the industry acquires new skills outside of traditional education. Specifically, a survey from Stack Overflow found that nearly 60% of respondents learned to code from online forums.
Because technology as an industry is constantly evolving, some level of continuous self-education is required. Coding academies can take the natural organic momentum of this self-directed learning and add structure to the process. This will help streamline the wealth of information available online, leverage the way people naturally learn, and ensure the curriculum helps recruiting organizations understand the skill sets of their candidates.
A non-traditional technology program or boot camp allows students to build on their existing skill set without having to start over in a university program.
As the tech industry merges with other industries to create sectors like health tech, fashion tech, and retail tech, having a non-traditional background can be an asset to new hires. A non-traditional technology program or boot camp allows students to build on their existing skill set without having to start over in a university program. Additionally, bootcamps allow for a more hands-on approach to learning, as the curriculum is tailored to prepare students for employment.
Engaging with new talent
Organizations are often at a loss when it comes to identifying new talent pipelines, whether it’s new talent to the workforce or employees who have been moving around the industry for years. For this reason, the partnership between enterprises and educational institutions is very important.
Tech companies are at the forefront of innovation, creating new platforms and opportunities for students to learn every day. By partnering with boot camps and other initiatives, you can translate this innovation into educational content that can be used to educate and train new employees. This creates a positive, sustainable ecosystem between educators, enterprises and students.
When developing curriculum, educators must clearly identify how the program will provide greater value to students and hiring organizations.
Despite ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts, many employers continue to look for the same stereotypes in tech workers — often male, wealthy, university-educated. In fact, there isn’t just one demographic or personality type that excels in this industry. With basic curiosity, logical thinking, critical thinking, and basic numeracy and literacy skills, an individual can be trained in skills that enable them to make a positive contribution to the organization.
Develop a training program
The primary objective of any educational program should be to equip people with the skills most important to a successful career in the technology industry. When developing curriculum, educators must clearly identify how the program will provide greater value to students and hiring organizations. For this value chain to be sustainable and applicable to the modern, ever-evolving technology ecosystem, organizations must start with the ultimate goal: identifying the most important skills needed to be positioned in a specific industry.
The most in-demand skills will continue to evolve to reflect the trends and flows of the technology industry. GitLab’s DevOps in Education 2021 survey found that the top skills taught alongside the DevOps platform are CI/CD, collaboration and communication, and application development and design. The educational institutions should continuously work with the enterprises to ensure that the curriculum is aligned with the ongoing business and industry needs.
The future of the enterprise-learning ecosystem
In the seven years since WeThinkCode’s founding, the institute has placed more than 500 program graduates in technology positions, with a 93 percent job placement rate. As a result, the alumni network has grown into a group of ambassadors who advocate for the program and its students.
Alumnus Alison Ngonyama worked primarily in administrative roles before joining WeThinkCode. She joined the DotModus team as a software engineer shortly after graduating as a recipient of the Good Fellowship Award during her tenure. Alison describes the program as “the most life-changing two years of my life,” adding that she has a “growing career as a software engineer.”
Recently, WeThinkCode will participate in a partnership pitch meeting with a potential enterprise sponsor. Shortly into the meeting, a member of the corporate team paused the game to share his background as a WeThinkCode alumnus. These full-circle moments and proven delivery results further validate GitLab’s mission to make the amazing opportunities the technology industry has to offer wider access.
The technology industry is at a critical inflection point: the past few years have changed the way we think about where and how we work. As the Great Retrenchment sweeps through the industry, it’s imperative that we reevaluate how we hire and invest in the next generation of tech talent.
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