SAN FRANCISCO, and TUNIS, Tunisia, July 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Holberton School, the college alternative for software engineers, today announced the location of its latest campus in Africa, (Tunis, Tunisia), which will be opening this September. The latest location, a joint venture with AfricaTek Academy, is the fifth Holberton School campus and the fourth location to open in the past year alone.
Holberton, founded by Julien Barbier and Sylvain Kalache, opened two campuses in Colombia earlier this year, as well as a campus in New Haven, CT last September. The school provides Silicon-Valley grade peer-learning and project-based software engineering training in only two years and where students do not pay tuition until they find a job. Students acquire practical skills and an understanding of theory through hands-on learning instead of lectures. Students have been employed at top-tier employers like Apple, LinkedIn, Google, Amazon, Tesla and more.
In Africa, people under 29 represent 70% of the population, but students who have graduated are more likely to be unemployed than those who have not graduated.
“Our goal is to turn Tunisia into a hub to train the next generation of African IT professionals,” said Neila Benzina, founder of Holberton Tunis. “With Holberton School we will be able to train and place job-ready IT professionals adapted to real-time market need and groomed to change as quickly as the market does.”
Partnering with the Tunisian Association for Communication and Technologies (TACT), and with the most important tech companies in Tunisia and in the region, Vermeg, a Tunisian company that’s now an international success has already committed to hire 30 graduates. The school expects to enroll 100 students a year in the near term, growing to more than 200 a year within 3 years.
"The future of Africa is digital and Tunisia is a central player in this movement. But the success of this revolution rests on the availability of qualified computer engineers,” said Badreddine Ouali, founder of Vermeg, Vermeg, Tunisia's international software publisher, which is partnering with Holberton and is committed to hiring 30 students over the next two years. “Holberton's desire to attract students from all social classes and backgrounds to train them in skills in high demand is exactly what we need.”
“Tunisia is known for its high literacy rate, entrepreneurship, and education infrastructure, as well as a strong tech presence. Microsoft, IBM and HP all have offices in Tunis,” said Julien Barbier, CEO and co-founder, Holberton. “With these attributes, and more than 4,000 open IT jobs in Tunis alone, Holberton can help bring a strong boost to – not just the tech sector – but the overall economy of Africa.”
Applications to Holberton are open to people with any educational background and of any age or gender. To learn more about Holberton School enrollment and opportunities, visit https://www.holbertonschool.com/fr-tn.
About Holberton
Holberton’s mission is to train the best software engineers of their generation, with graduates hired by companies like Apple, Tesla, Pinterest and LinkedIn. At Holberton everything is project-centered, students learn by doing and working in collaborative groups. The college alternative is free until students find a job. This, and an automated, bias-free admissions process, has led to a very diverse student body. The school is supported by mentors and investors who are leaders in technology, sports, and entertainment, including: Grammy-Award winner NE-YO, actor and social activist Priyanka Chopra, New York Jets Kelvin Beachum; and technology visionaries LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, Yahoo! Founder Jerry Yang, Docker Founder Solomon Hykes and Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel. The school is based in San Francisco, with additional campuses in Connecticut, Colombia (Bogotá and Medellín), and Tunis, Tunisia. Go to www.holbertonschool.com to learn more.
Editorial Contact
Joe Eckert for Holberton
School jeckertflak@gmail.com