The first onboarding session for the Career Ready Programme (Data Science Track) held via Zoom Conference call on Monday January 27, 2020; with participants from various continents.
It was hosted by Constant Learn, a Lagos-based Information Technology and Capacity Development start-up committed to bridge the digital skills and unemployment gap by providing learners with the skills to create innovative solutions and sustainable development.
Speaking during the session, Founder/CEO of Constant Learn, Ayodeji J Adejuyigbe said, "What we want to do is to be able to bridge the digital skills gap. We believe the next decade we are in already is actually one that will bring about smart machines and how best humans can actually rely more on models to be able to solve problems."
On why Constant Learn is embarking on this journey, Adejuyigbe said, "We looked at what is the current pain that may exist at this time, and we saw pricing as one of the major concerns for people that want to take technology courses and again we looked at classroom based training as limiting because you have to be physically present. Then we also noticed that training providers would leave learners to search for jobs themselves." Constant Learn is here to address these challenges with our Career Ready Program (Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Track).
According to a 2017 McKinsey Report, about 75 to 375 million people may need to switch occupational categories and learn new skills. In July 2019, Amazon said it was going to hire 100,000 US employees for in-demand jobs by 2025.
Tosin Awe, Cloud Infrastructure Consultant at Accenture Canada and a keynote speaker at the session said one of the aims of the program is to introduce learners to what Data Science is all about and also the importance of Artificial Intelligence, as recent research shows that in the next few years many jobs currently in operation will be done by robots, thereby leading to massive job loss.
"You have to position yourself way ahead of time for the right opportunities, and one of the ways of doing such is to see into the future and mentally visualize what skills will be in hot demand in a few years from now. You have to look at every project with the angle of compassion. If you don't have compassion in solving a problem, it would be very difficult to solve the problem," Awe said.
The second keynote speaker, Toyin Agunbiade, Programme Lead, Kantar UK handled her session in an interactive manner as she asked the learners' why they chose to engage in data science.
One of the learners, Unyime Akpabio said, "I see data as the new oil and with data you can have a little bit of insight into the future... that's really mind-blowing for me."
Speaking further, Agunbiade said, "In deciding on a career path in Data Science, you need to simplify things, by ensuring that you know exactly what you want to do. Secondly, what are the basic skills you need to be able to get into this field and the third part is what is your action plan.
"The beauty of being part of the Career Ready Programme is that you have a shoulder to stand on and people you can call on to ask questions, which is something I didn't have when I started. So it's a really good thing for you that you are part of this journey."
On what Data Science is about, Agunbiade said, "Data Science is the use of statistical techniques to analyse raw data," adding that "the basic skills a Data Scientist would need are - Programming Language, Statistics, Machine Learning, Advanced SQL and Communication."
While speaking on the basic skills required for Data Science, Agunbiade stated, "I would always recommend that you start with Python. It's easier to correct the mistakes you are making and to correct yourself going forward. That's why I started with Python. I read a lot of articles and found out that I should start with Python so I don't get frustrated before I learn R if I wanted to.
"Machine Learning is the system observing what you are doing and giving you options of other things you may be interested in, e.g. YouTube, Spotify.
"I believe that if you want to stand out in the market, you need to have a basic understanding of Advanced SQL.
"Communication is the most important skill. You have to learn how to tell stories."
Speaking to the learners, Agunbiade said "you would have to plot your own learning journey."
She stated that "applying Data Science in the real world requires understanding the company's goals, the idea behind those goals, the company's plans and how you can recreate their plans to be more realistic, then the implementation."
While responding to participants questions on when the next set of learners will be accepted, Adejuyigbe said the second batch of learners would most likely start between the last week in February and the first week in March.
The closing remark was delivered by Agbolahan Olusola, the CTO and the co-founder of Constant Learn who thanked the participants for having faith in the company to deliver quality service and meet their needs.
He said, "We would do everything possible within our powers and within our contract to make sure that we deliver on our end, trusting that you would also will do everything within your power to live up to the expectation.
Speaking on the importance of the programme and its possibilities for the future, Agbolahan stated the time would arise when programming would be used to fight corruption in Nigeria.
Constant Learn
Seedspace Lagos, 23 Agodogba Ave, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos
amanda@constantlearn.io | www.constantlearn.io
Ayodeji Johnson Adejuyigbe
Constant Learn is a Lagos based EdTech startup committed to bridge the digital skills gap through the use of our digital learning platform built to equip learners with skills in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at $0 upfront training cost, the learner only pays 5% of monthly pay for a given period upon getting a job otherwise the training is free, yes this we intend to achieve with the Online Career Ready Program (CRP).
