Holberton School, the project-based coding school, announces today that it will open a new campus in Johannesburg, South Africa. Holberton School now has 32 campuses around the world.
Holberton School, a global educational institution that trains students in high-demand computer science and coding skills has opened its third African campus in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city. Holberton positions itself as a “project-based” alternative to university, i.e. an institution that produces ready-for-the-market graduates through hands-on training on “real-world” software engineering projects. A 100% of graduates of Holberton’s first African campus in Tunisia found jobs in Spain, France and Tunisia.
In a recent statement from Holberton’s Benjamin Mampuya, the new campus, which is the group’s third in Africa, opened its doors to South African students on January 24, 2022.
Co-founded in Silicon Valley in 2016 by CEO Julien Barbier, Holberton School has enrolled more than 3,000 students worldwide across more than 30 campuses in five continents, including America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
The new South Africa campus becomes the third Holberton School campus in Africa, after Tunisia, inaugurated in 2017, and Egypt, in 2021.
According to the statement, the school aims to train highly-qualified software engineers to meet the growing demand for IT jobs in South Africa, while around 30 students are expected for the first cohort, who will follow a 12-month program.
“With three cohorts per year, starting in January, May, and September, the school delivers a fast and high-quality computer science and software engineering- program for all those who wish to learn or improve their software engineering skills.
“Students at Holberton School South Africa will, throughout their training, acquire skills required for the jobs of today and tomorrow, namely, Blockchain, Full-stack Web Development, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual and Augmented Reality (AR/VR).
“Holberton School South Africa is partnering with the company Singular System to offer a full scholarship to the first 20 students of its new school as part of this partnership,” the statement read.
Also speaking as quoted in the statement, the Director of Holberton School South Africa, Thulani Ntuli, explained that South Africa was one of the most dynamic countries in Africa when it comes to technology and innovation.
“Today, more than 80 per cent of local companies are turning to artificial intelligence to automate their processes. But the lack of highly skilled tech talent is preventing them from moving as fast as they would need. The creation of our school is a response to this problem.”
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Holberton, Julien Barbier, noted that South Africa was an important step for the development of Holberton School in Africa.
“We are delighted with the success our graduates have had since our first school launched in Africa. 100 per cent of the first graduates from Holberton Schools in Africa have found a job, both from local and foreign companies,” he added.
Faced with the technological changes that the business world is experiencing, and marked by a constant need for digitalization of processes and tools, African companies still lack qualified IT software engineers but are full of promising and talented young people.
According to the statement, the high quality of training offered by Holberton School would enable this new generation to gain faster access to a career in IT, and as a consequence, would help the African continent to be more competitive on the global stage.
According to independent sources, tuition at Holberton School is between $40,000:00 to $85,000:00depending on the campus. Students who complete the 12-month foundation programme earn a median salary of $95,000:00 in their first full-time job. Holberton graduates have found jobs with high-profile employers such as Google, Cisco Systems, IBM, Apple, and Facebook. The school allows students to enroll for free and pay 17% of their salary for 3.5 years to cover the cost of training. It presents an alternative to businesses like Andela and Tex Experts that hire graduates in extremely competitive recruitment exercises, trains them to become software engineers and hires them out to firms.
About Holberton School
A world-class education should be available to everyone, regardless of background, gender, or ethnicity. That’s why Holberton’s college alternative program is offering students multiple ways to upgrade their knowledge, giving them the tools to pursue their dreams. Graduates have gone on to work as software engineers at top employers, including Apple, MercadoLibre, Pinterest, Google, Rappi, and LinkedIn. Holberton School trains software engineers in both practical knowledge and theory by utilizing project-based and peer learning.
Go to www.holbertonschool.com to learn more.
