ALCwithGoogle 2.0: Unveiling hidden dreams
Investing in people means everything to us.
After successfully supporting 2,000+ learners in the pilot phase of the Andela Learning Community with Google, we often receive success stories from our graduates about how the ALC is transforming their lives. Some have gotten full-time jobs as developers, some have launched their own businesses (including mentorship/training programs), and a few have even joined Andela — all in the last five months.
ALC Career Fair
One notable step our graduates took was last weekend’s Career Fair by Andela with support from Google. We connected 90+ certified Android Developers from the pilot phase with 25+ hiring companies, including GTBank, Interswitch, Junior Achievement Nigeria, Wakanow, Gidimo, and many other notable businesses. The businesses have setup a whooping 169 follow-up interview calls with the learners. It’s only been a few days, and Junior Achievement Nigeria has already hired one of the graduates at the fair after being amazed by the quality of the ALC new breeds of software engineers. Stay tuned for more updates to come.
Andela Learning Community with Google 2.0
On September 29th, as the next phase in Andela’s commitment to invest in communities of talent across Africa, we kick-started the second phase of the ALC program to support 3,000+ new learners across Nigeria and Kenya in Android, Web and Product Design. In the first three weeks alone, we received over 15,000 applications. Our data readily confirm that 59% of the applicants are between the ages of 18 and 24 — indicating that the youth are hungry and ready to gain real life experiences as they prepare for the future which is nearly at hand. 58% also tell us that they are in the ALC to improve their skills to be ready for future opportunities.
Out of the total application pool, 10,500+ learners wrote our tests, which measured their readiness and commitment levels. After a rigorous selection process, 3,000+ made it into the program. What about the 7,000 who didn’t make it into the program, even though they scaled through our assessments? We are presently doing our best to support them, because
…Andela doesn’t think about how to build walls to keep people out, but instead, how we build ladders to get people in.” — @EvanGreenLowe, Vice President, Talent at @Andela.
That is why we are now building a custom program for the other 7,000 learners. We have also connected them to other learning community programs we are running.
The Learning Community Ambassadors
Another huge force powering our learning community is the volunteer part of the program called “Learning Community Ambassadors.” A Learning Community Ambassador (LCA) is a volunteer in the Andela Learning Community supported by Google, whose goal is to engage and support the learners throughout their learning journey.
We have 4 LCA types:
- Meetup Facilitators organise and facilitate ALC meetups in their regions for the beginner learners in the Android or Web development tracks.
- Community Mentors assist and mentor beginner learners in the Android and Web development tracks.
- Code reviewers review the project of intermediate learners in ALC 2.0, providing feedback on their code structure, code quality and functionality based on a set guideline.
- Regional Program Assistants work directly with the Andela team to generate and champion strategies to engage and support the learners in their various regions at every step of the ALC program. They interface with other LCAs to make sure they have the learners have the best experience.
Our learners have been successfully onboarded on Udacity (the course environment for the program) and Slack (peer learning platform), and officially commenced learning on the 24th of November with a one-of-a-kind Slack Launch Party — a chat session with 2000+ learners on what the ALC 2.0 program with Google entails.
ALCwithGoogle 2.0 meetups happening in 35+ locations
Finally, we are excited to be hosting the very first in-person meetups for ALCwithGoogle 2.0 on Saturday, December 9th, in 35+ locations across Nigeria and Kenya. The meetups will afford the learners the opportunity to get some face-time with their LCAs to resolve the technical issues they might encounter in this four-month software development journey they have begun. Ultimately, the goal of the meetups is to enhance team collaboration and provide a sense of community which is the bedrock of the ALC.
There is a dream living inside of every human on earth. The Andela Learning Community is one of the keys to unveiling those dreams, and we, the humans of Andela, won’t rest until this happens.
Join us with #ALCwithGoogle on Twitter and Facebook to see how we are running distributed meetups across 35+ locations in NG and KE for the next four months.
Special shout out to all the regional volunteer program assistants in Nigeria and Kenya who are driving the ALCwithGoogle 2.0 program in their regions — Chioma James, Auwal MS, Chizoba Ogbonna, Kanyinsola Oyindamola Fapohunda, Ajah M. David, Imani Alpha, Nsikak Thompson, Onoja Rachael, Abram Ogol, Barclay Koin, Mercy Cheruto
