Google Africa Certifications Scholarships Applications Now Open

Google has announced the next round of Google Africa Certifications Scholarships aimed at helping developers become certified on Google’s Android, Web and Cloud technologies.

Africa is on track to having the largest working-age population of 1.1 billion by 2034 and Google targets providing to mobile developer training to 100,000 Africans.

While making the announcement, Charles Murito Google Kenya Country Manager said that Google is committed towards young Africans for future jobs through the LaunchPad Accelerator.

“We are offering 30,000 additional scholarship opportunities and 1,000 grants for the Google Associate Android, Mobile Web, and Associate Cloud Engineer certifications,” said Murito.

The program will be delivered by Google partners, Pluralsight and Andela, through an intensive learning curriculum designed to prepare motivated learners for entry-level and intermediate roles as software developers in these fields.

Interested students can learn more about the Google Africa Certifications Scholarships and apply here. The application deadline is Wednesday May 15, 2019.

“Google’s certifications are developed around a job-task analysis that test learners for skills employers expect developers to have in these domains. This scholarship is about preparing the youth for the jobs of tomorrow by equipping them with the right developer skills,” read a statement from Google.

Read: 4 Start-ups To Represent Kenya AT Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa

In one of the testimonies, Adaobi Frank – a graduate of the Associate Android Developer certification – got a better job that paid her 10X her previous salary after completing her certification. Her interview was quicker as her employer was convinced that she was great for the role after she mentioned that she was certified. Now, she’s got a job that helps provide for her family.

“Our continued initiatives focused on digital skills training, education and economic opportunity, and support for African startups and developers, demonstrate our commitment to helping advance a healthy and vibrant developer ecosystem. By providing support for training and certifications we will help bridge the unemployment gap on the continent through increasing the number of employable software developers,” adds the statement.