Samsung's successful App Factory celebrates its third cohort of graduates

Though there is a high demand for software developers in SA, there is still a need for more work-ready talent. Even when graduates have the technical skills, they don’t know how to work effectively in a team or transfer their knowledge to a real-world context.

In 2020, Wits University’s Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, in partnership with Samsung, launched an internship to address this skills shortage, and this year it celebrates the graduation of the third cohort of its successful App Factory. 

The initiative recruits high-potential graduates from various tertiary institutions and allows them to work on realistic projects under the supervision of a senior developer for nine months.

In the real world, errors or bugs in software development projects come with a high cost. The App Factory creates a safe environment to “fail fast, learn faster”. The graduates learn full-stack development by mastering the theory, as well as tackling and delivering under pressure on realistic projects. Their technical skills are honed and they develop problem-solving abilities, critical thinking, effective communication, presenting, collaborating as a team, and information literacy.

“SA software development solutions are competing globally for talent so we need to make sure we are growing a quality talent pipeline locally that can be productive in the workplace fairly quickly. There is still too big a gap in the work readiness of graduates, which the App Factory addresses,” says Tshimologong Precinct CEO Lesley Donna Williams.

The first cohort in 2020 comprised eight interns from 85 applicants; the second, nine from 306; and the latest intake is 18 from 772 applicants. The teaching approach is intensive and high-impact, focusing on small groups and individual attention, and there is a high demand for the internship’s graduates.

Many have found work at a world-renowned automotive manufacturer. Nomfundo Phororo, from the 2020 graduate group, says she recently took her first business trip with the company.

“I flew to Germany to meet my colleagues and visit their hi-tech manufacturing plants. Being on the App Factory programme opened up opportunities that most people can only dream of.”

New graduate Simphiwe Nyandeni, who is the youngest of three orphaned siblings, says the support from her sisters steered her in the right direction. Nyandeni initially wanted to study travel and tourism but her sister encouraged her to go for the apprenticeship at Tshimologong instead.

“I’m now ready for the field of work and really grateful to Samsung for making this great opportunity available to young people like me who are ambitious and driven, but with limited opportunities,” she says.

Samsung recognises that SA’s young people are talented and require skills development beyond tertiary education to gain employment. Unleashing their potential requires exposing talent to how software is developed in the industry.

“The shortage of adequately skilled software engineers would hamper the country’s ability to ride the wave of the fourth industrial revolution and risk being left behind. This is what makes such initiatives so much more critical. As Samsung, we want to do our bit to contribute to this developmental agenda and process towards growing the economy,” says Hlubi Shivanda, Samsung director of business operations, innovation and corporate affairs.

This article was paid for by Samsung.