Gary Bannatyne, Brandon Muller and James Coetzee, co-founders and directors of The Digital Academy, believe their apprenticeship programme is the way of the future for young African developers.

Our initiative, The Digital Academy, was founded as a solution to the shortage of skilled software and web developers in South Africa. Over the years, we’ve struggled to find trained professional developers who have the skills and knowledge base for project undertakings. With The Digital Academy, interns can eventually deliver market-ready products.

The programme

Through collaboration with our partners, such as Barclays Africa, we have been able to host four intakes of 30 apprentices each year. These apprentices, or intern employees, undergo a rapid software development internship, which equips them with real-world skills. Our goal is to deliver hundreds of trained developers to the market annually.

Two of our most amazing success stories are Rogers Nkosi and Thakagala Phasha. Their introduction to the programme has not only changed their lives, but armed them with the skillset and portfolio to make a mark in the digital industry.

The success stories

Rogers Nkosi has always had a passion for computers from an early age. During high school, he was constantly researching website design and made his own websites. However, Rogers found it difficult to complete his studies due to his mother being in domestic employment. As a result, he was forced to take on gardening work to support both his family and pursue his passion for IT.

Now at the age of 24, he is currently pursuing a Diploma in IT at UNISA to further his education and create a path for employment. But most of what Rogers knows is because he’s self-taught. He sought out The Digital Academy as he saw it as place where he could apply his self-taught knowledge, and expand his horizons further.

With us, Rogers has learnt about programming a variety of different solutions which has widened his skillset considerably over the course of a few months. The change has been drastic for him as he now has a portfolio of work and a set of marketable skills to his name.

The same can be said of Thakagala Phasha, who is a 23 year-old from Limpopo. She comes from a single parent household and originally was studying Biomedicine at the Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI).

Thakagala left MGI due to financial issues and family concerns, and therefore ended up enrolling for an IT course at Damelin. It was here that she developed a passion for IT, despite the wishes of her mother to return to the field of Biomedicine.

With a burgeoning passion for IT, Thakagala decided to join us at The Digital Academy. Now as one of our intern employees, she has made her mother proud by showing her the many opportunities available in the digital economy.

Through The Digital Academy, Thakagala has fully realised her love for IT, and has obtained a new skill-set, such as learning to code on mobile platforms like Android. She has also begun developing a portfolio of work that will make her transition into the job market much smoother. The Digital Academy has not only taught her technical skills, but analytical skills as well.

Talent fully realised

Both Rogers and Thakagla have been successfully up-skilled by attending The Digital Academy. They’re no longer rough diamonds, but through The Digital Academy are becoming more polished.

Through our internships, they have obtained a diverse set of technical skills and practical experience from working on commercial projects. These projects have involved major corporate partners like Barclays Africa.

With all this commercial experience, interns are able to leave The Digital Academy with a marketable skillset and portfolio. Because of this, they are readily armed for the digital industry.