At the back of the launch of its learning platform last year, Nigeria’s EdTech startup for data science and analytics- Zacrac Learning has taken another step to bridge the data gap in the data profession. The company is the foremost data school in Africa with experience spanning both physical and online training. Starting in 2019 with physical cohorts, the company launched a learning platform to reach a bigger audience, where learners can choose from self-paced recorded courses or online live classes.
Unlike the Self-Paced Recorded courses where learners study at their own pace, Zacrac Learning believes that a more robust curriculum and training structure is needed to train ready-for-hire data talents. To achieve this, the company launched a career-focused Incubator Program where talents are trained for 7 months and offered to companies for 3 months post-study internship. Learners focus on a single track in the data professional during the 7 months and develop proficiency in specific tools like Python, MySQL, R, Power BI et cetera.
According to Segun Oni, Chief Learning Officer at Zacrac Learning “mastering a few tools is better than learning several tools without a proficiency in any, so we encourage learners to choose between Python or R, Power BI or Tableau, etc, master it, and scale to others if need be”. Apart from the technical skills, learners in the incubator program will also acquire soft skills like communication skills, presentation, and report writing- all of which Segun believes are must-haves for a successful career in the data profession.
Despite the talent shortage in data science and the opportunities, accessing quality data education is not cheap- especially for learners in Africa where about 140M youths are unemployed. Zacrac Learning is solving this problem through the Incubator Program where learners pay $0 upfront and pay when and only if they get a job in the future. According to Wale Adeyemo, the CEO and Co-Founder “the situation is a chicken and egg problem. On one hand, there are job opportunities in data science, and the demand is projected to keep increasing, about 11 million new data jobs are created yearly. On the other hand, there is a huge population of young people in Africa, smart people, but lacking the skill to harness the opportunities. They need the skill to get the job, but they need money to acquire the skills. But once they get the job, they can get the money”.
This is what the Incubator Program is about- learners are trained and groomed to be employable, and they pay back when they start working. Interested persons across Africa with an interest in learning and starting a career in data science and analytics are called to apply here.
