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Our goal of training 30K technologists across Africa in Kubernetes by 2027 is firmly within reach. This is a team effort to uplift and equip Africa’s developer community with technical skills sought after worldwide. Powered by Andela, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), and the Linux Foundation, the Kubernetes African Developer Training Program builds the skills that underpin modern cloud architecture and enable AI workloads to run securely, efficiently, and at scale.
“This partnership provides an important opportunity for communities in Africa to easily access, and benefit from essential, cloud native training and certifications,” says Chris Aniszczyk, CTO at the CNCF. “This creates a win-win for companies that need engineers and developers in Africa seeking opportunities.”
Applications are now open for the next cohort, with training to start in March. What better way to encourage people to apply than to reflect on the record-breaking success of our first graduating class?
The first group of Kubernetes trainees were selected from over 8,700 applications representing 46 African countries. The program featured 5 tailored courses for people bringing different levels of skills and exposure to Kubernetes to the first sessions.
In all, we had over 5000 complete the training and earn their certifications—including top representation from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and Rwanda.
Opportunity and Progress from the Jump
In addition to picking up curated technical skills and coding fluency to leap into the $11.8+B Kubernetes market, participants organized 50 peer groups. They also benefitted from 11 virtual sessions hosted by Kubestronauts from around the world, including:
- Intro to Real World Kubernetes - From Theory to Practice by Junaid Muhammad
- Architecting Cloud Native Applications on Kubernetes by Iliyan Petkov
- Building and Deploying Apps with Kubernetes by Valentin Hristev
- KCNA Exam prep by Saiyam Pathak and other recently KCNA certified learners from the program.
Through the first application process, we learned there is a lot of desire to obtain these skills from people who need a little help with some foundational work in order to qualify. Instead of cutting them out of the program, we created a new space and enrolled them into three prerequisite courses: LFS101, LFS151, and LFS158. This foundation course has become a key way to bring more developers into the program, setting them up for success.
Even though cohort one has been completed for months, the community continues to thrive—with developers and program managers surfacing job and upskilling opportunities on a regular basis.
We expect more automation and continued support from our recent graduates to strengthen the program for subsequent learners. In fact, we’re dedicated to making it happen.
Strengthening Africa’s Developer Community
Our program is a testament to the builder spirit of learning by doing.
Once accepted and enrolled, learners engaged with the program at a consistently high rate (88%) and gained new skills that immediately translated into outcomes: 20% pursued new career paths, while 80% reported major improvements in Kubernetes and cloud-native knowledge.
And we’re going even bigger for this next class. More career resources. More expert-led sessions and hands-on workshops. More community support infrastructure. More opportunities to expand Kubernetes knowledge and build practical cloud-native skills.
The New Class: Scaled up. Just as Focused.
We don’t just want to offer Africa’s developers opportunities (a chief goal), we also want to provide the world with the strongest Kubernetes talent pipeline to help lead us into the future of an AI-driven world.
Africa’s developers are the heart of this program. We simply couldn’t do it without you, along with support from our global network of partners, mentors, trainers, and the broader Kubernetes community. There is no more barrier to entry, just an opportunity too good to pass up! Apply today!
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