New campus launching in Cape Town

WeThinkCode_, a revolutionary tech-based learning institution that offers free education to the software industry, is excited to announce the official opening of its new Cape Town campus in January 2018.

WeThinkCode_ (WTC) opened its first campus in Johannesburg in January 2016, where it currently trains 300 students, and with the addition of the second campus it plans to welcome 320 students across the country in 2018.

WTC has partnered with the V&A Waterfront to establish the new campus in one of Cape Town’s most iconic locations; which will be at Workshop17 Portswood.The V&A Waterfront is dedicated to support skills development and tech entrepreneurs.

V&A Waterfront CEO, David Green said: “Our partnership with WeThinkCode_ illustrates the V&A Waterfront’s continued commitment to empowering youth with the skills required for an ever changing labour market. Coding and tech entrepreneurship is a key driver to providing the building blocks of our future economic growth and fostering innovation. Workshop17 in particular was established as a space dedicated to enabling, creating and showcasing African solutions and bringing WeThinkCode_ into this space is a natural extension of our drive to building a world class innovation environment.”

This exciting expansion of WeThinkCode_ is made possible through the partnership with its growth sponsor, BCX, who works with WeThinkCode_ to invest in the next generation of South African talent in the ICT sector.

Ian Russell, CEO of BCX, says the investment will benefit businesses across the continent. “As the Telkom Group, we are investing over R250 million over the next three years to build a pipeline of digital skills among young people between the ages of 17 and 25. Not only will these investments create more digitally skilled workers, but also, they will allow us to employ these bright young minds in our business, benefitting from their enhanced skillsets. So, we don’t take our partnership with WeThinkCode_ lightly.”

Russell points out that to grow the country’s GDP there is a need to invest in the digital skills transformation of the country. “Working together with institutions such as WeThinkCode_, we could position South Africa as a beacon for the global economy, by being a training ground for the top digital skills in the world. Digital is everyone’s business. Digital transformation holds benefits for us all.”

Arlene Mulder, Managing Director and co-founder of WeThinkCode_ said, “We are dedicated to empowering our youth with skills to design world-changing solutions for the digital era. We believe strongly in partnering with organizations such as BCX and the Waterfront to drive the development of world-class tech skills in South Africa. Our expansion to Cape Town signifies an exciting new chapter for WeThinkCode_, and we are excited to expand our search for top tech talent.”

Applications to join the 2018 cohort in both Cape Town and Johannesburg are currently open. Candidates can apply online today on https://www.wethinkcode.co.za/. Applicants will be required to complete three online tests and if they pass, they will be invited to a four-week Bootcamp. Thereafter, the top candidates will be selected to join the two-year programme. Cape Town’s first-ever cohort will comprise of 120 students and the Joburg campus has 200 spaces available. Applicants who do not have access to a computer and internet can visit Workshop17 Portswood to complete the application process. Please [email protected] to book a time slot.

Camille Agon, Managing Director and co-founder of WeThinkCode_ says: “The opening of our Cape Town campus gives us the invaluable opportunity to pursue our mission to unlock Africa’s digital talent with an innovative and disruptive model that is tuition-free and open to all youth.”

WeThinkCode_ has partnered with BCX as its Growth Sponsor, as well as BBD, FNB and Derivco as Founding Sponsors.

Gus Pringle, CFO of BBD commented that “BBD believes the future for our business and our country hinges on educating as many people as possible to participate meaningfully in the 4th digital revolution, our support for WeThinkCode_ is as a result of their demonstrating the ability to smash glass ceilings for previously disadvantaged youth in this regard”.

Peter Alkema, FNB Business CIO said, “FNB is thrilled that WeThinkCode_ continues to expand and further democratise digital skills training through its highly innovative learning model. We have been a proud Founding Sponsor since 2016 and benefitted from 13 students in the first cohort; we wish this disruptive business every success in their new Cape Town campus.”

This article first appeared in https://www.siliconcape.com/wethinkcode_-campus-to-launch-in-cape-town/