By Deborah Asantewaah SARFO
Codetrain Africa has held another edition of the DEMO Day event with young people presenting innovative mobile and web applications, indicating their readiness for the global tech market.
Over 10 students took turns to present some innovative solutions ranging from apps or websites for leave requests, booking for health care services and waste management, designed to solve challenges in companies not just in Ghana, but also in Ireland, Germany, Tanzania, Senegal, Ivory Coast and other countries.
The Demo Day is a pivotal moment for students, who have spent months honing their skills to create innovative solutions for companies in various countries across the globe.
Speaking on the sidelines of the DEMO Day, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Codetrain Africa, Richard Brandt, emphasised that with an increasing youth population competing for limited opportunities in the country, the institution takes students through a two-year program offering them key tech skills to increase their chances for tech roles in the world.
“We pick high potential university graduates that are looking for jobs, or even people who are studying school, and then we take them through a professional training program for two years,” he said.
Meanwhile, he emphasised that training students for the global tech ecosystem requires practical skills, values, and international mindsets.
Some websites and apps exhibited at the event include Grace Djobokou’s website for social enterprises, Maxwell Benjamin Duah’s leave management system app that aids employees in requesting leave and Benjamin Shadrach Tetteh’s app that aids a company in Berlin in offering health care services for the elderly and less privilege.
Regarding some challenges the students encountered while working on the projects, Mr. Tetteh explained that “as a Gen Z, I love to do sophisticated things but considering the elderly being the target group for my app, I had difficulty in developing an app that looks simple or easy to operate.”
Mr. Brandt also urged young people not to limit themselves to “going to school and be entitled to a job”, but rather aim higher and gain skills to facilitate their participation in the tech space.
“Young people should not look at just going to school and being entitled to a job, but they should aim higher. Not necessarily trying to gain skills to survive, but rather gaining skills to participate in the global space.
Commenting on the future of tech, he envisions a future with huge tech opportunities for young people who would “participate and contribute to decision making within the tech environment”, emphasising that Ghanaians are very creative and “very soon they will be involved in developing the next tech solutions.
Codetrain prides itself in empowering tertiary graduates who aspire to become software developers and enter the fast-growing tech space. Beyond technical skills, Codetrain offers soft skills training, creating a well-rounded learning experience in a safe and inclusive environment.
