When Adewale Yusuf, Opeyemi Awoyemi and Akintunde Sultan launched TalentQL back in November 2020, they had their sights set firmly on training junior developers before outsourcing their services to organisations that need them.
But then, the demand for senior developers is high and continues to rise. TalentQL CEO, Adewale Yusuf explained that the demand for senior engineers is at an all-time high as up to 90% of the startup’s clients are seeking senior software engineers.
But there’s an even bigger problem; the abject lack of qualified resources from Africa for these jobs. According to the e-Conomyrelease Africa 2020 report by Google and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Africa has about 700,000 professional software developers.
However, a larger percentage of these developers are junior to mid-level. As Adewale himself summed it up during a chat with Technext, nobody is training senior developers in Africa. This, according to the CEO, is a timebomb waiting to explode unless something is done and done really fast.
And this is exactly where Pipeline by TalentQL comes in.
The Pipeline Program was necessitated by this huge gap in the supply of Senior Software Engineers on the continent as against demand. While running TalentQL, we also discovered that a lot of the available Senior Software Engineers lack the requisite soft skills that will position them for global opportunities.
Adewale Yusuf, TalentQL CEO
“We are committed to providing practical solutions to these problems through our Pipeline Program. The program will not only train them on technical skills but will cover soft skills that are needed to succeed and compete in the global talent market,” Adewale said.
The 6-month intensive Pipeline Program will be fully remote and will run a peer to peer learning format which will offer one-on-one mentorship by Top Senior Software Engineers working from the biggest tech companies globally, including Twitter, Tesla, Gitlab, Amazon, Google among others.
Pipeline program is open for EVERY developer
Since the Pipeline program is a TalentQL program, one might wonder if it is only available for developers already onboarded to the TalentQL network. Or at least to prospective ones. But the CEO says that isn’t the case as the program is available to every developer who meets the criteria and passes the test.
“The Pipeline is targeted at every developer across Africa. Once you meet the requirement which is a minimum of 3 years working experience and you pass our rigorous technical test, then you are qualified to join,” Adewale said.
He also said the Pipeline won’t be a criterion for developers who wish to join the TalentQL network as the company is still focusing on its core model of getting opportunities from different parts of the world and matching them with talents from Africa.
“This has nothing to do with our current business,” he said.
So how do interested developers pay for the training?
Developers are not required to make payment for the program until they are through with it and are getting attached to jobs. The payment would therefore be after the 6 months of training has been concluded. Then the developer would pay from the proceeds of the jobs they are able to attract henceforth.
“You’re paying after you get your first opportunity, after we are done upskilling you,” Adewale Yusuf said. “There will be an income-sharing agreement which developers would sign with us.”
The CEO also lauded the Techstars Accelerator whose 2021 cohort his company is part of. He noted that although his team has had the idea of establishing the Pipeline Program for a while, they were able to finetune it, learn what obtains from other markets and decide what works best for Africa while at the Accelerator.
The Pipeline by TalentQL Program is an opportunity for engineers and developers all over Africa to upskill their talents and upgrade their professional status to be able to compete more favourably on a global scale.
As touted by the CEO, the program will not only train them on technical skills but will cover soft skills that are needed to succeed and compete in the global talent market.
We are confident that this is the right move and will be solving a major challenge in the African Tech Talent Market.
Adewale Yusuf
Interested candidates can apply by visiting the website.
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