FORTY-EIGHT women have successfully finished the WeCode Quality Assurance Software Testing training programme. They were awarded with certificates of excellence on Friday. According to Yvette Uwineza, the Programme Manager of WeCode, a programming school and IT agency, it aims at nurturing young women into future leaders in the tech sector. The programme was designed to address the prevailing gender digital divide. During the two months course, she added, students gained teamwork, coding, planning and communication skills, among others as part of the school’s initiative to facilitate female IT enthusiast to access global markets. Out of the 48 graduates, 21 of them received the International Software Testing Qualifications Board certificate, a tool that could potentially propel them to global job markets. WeCode partnered with Muraho Technology Ltd to expand the business oriented training programme. WeCode is an affiliate of the Chamber of ICT of the Private Sector Federation. Dan Munkittrick, the CEO at Muraho Technology, said that the programme does not only train women, but also links them to potential employers. Muraho has an affiliate company in Canada. He noted that the knowledge the graduates were equipped with, will help them in the future to solve software problems. “Women can do what men can and even do it better,” Munkittrick said. Isabella Bucyeyeneza, one of the graduates, said that she learnt software project management and quality assurance. She never had prior background in IT. For the trainees, the course has opened them doors to new ideas and now some graduates plan to start mentoring fellow women in ICT. “With the skills that I have learnt, I am hoping to start up my own software company in Rwanda, this is a dream that will come true as I get more skills and money,” said Marie Luce Mugire, another trainee. Cindy Tempel, one of the IT Trainers in Technology, advised graduates to have self-confidence and set career goals and objectives. Wecode implementation partner Muraho Technology is offering all graduates internships of 4 months, overseeing live project work in QA so that they gain experience enabling them to move into paid project work. Many of these interns are supported by RDB, through Capacity Development and Employment, through their internship facilitation that offers companies opportunities to access their vast intern database editorial@newtimes.co.rw
