Shaun Dippnall, co-founder of the EDSA, explains “To date our cohort intakes have been in January only, but demand for data science skills and the calibre of candidates we select is such that we are now able to include a second cohort mid-year.”
400 places are available, 150 of which are fully-sponsored with the remaining 250 open to learners who can arrange their own funding. For these students, the fee for the year-long course is R60,000. EDSA has a Money-Back Promise for these students if they do not get a job earning at least R240,000 per year within 6 months of completing the course.
EDSA also has an online option where students spend a few hours a day over a year learning valuable Data Science skills. Dippnalls says: ‘We have 150 learners on our online course at the moment - these are typically employees in companies who want to upskill to turbo-charge their careers. We see a strong growth in these numbers as we appeal to a broader audience of learners.’
Applications for the 12-month data science learnership are open to all. Applicants for the sponsored learnership should have a matric and be between 18 and 35 years of age. They must pass an online assessment and thereafter attend a data science boot camp and an interview with EDSA faculty members.
The July cohort will be hosted at the EDSA’s Braamfontein campus. “We opened our first campus in Cape Town but, with most big businesses located in Gauteng, a Johannesburg campus became necessary. We now have the breadth of faculty to be able to teach in both centres,” says Dippnall.
Earlier this year the EDSA announced that it aims to have trained 5000 data scientists and the majority placed into jobs in South Africa by 2025.
The EDSA’s goal, through its sponsored learnerships and self-funded courses, is to address both South Africa’s chronic youth unemployment crisis - currently at 53% - as well as provide relevant skills to meet the ever-evolving demands of the digital economy.
To enrol, go to www.explore-datascience.net
