NCB Foundation has committed to a partnership with Amber Group, HEART/NSTA Trust and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI) to extend training to youth in coding via the Amber HEART Coding Academy and the MOEYI’s Coding in Schools Pilot Programme. A total commitment of $18 million has been earmarked. NCB Foundation directors, Education Minister Fayval Williams and other key stakeholders gathered on July 22 at the Stony Hill HEART Academy for the official partnership announcement ceremony.

In January 2021, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the launch of Jamaica’s first coding academy, which was executed through a partnership between Amber Technologies and HEART/NSTA Trust. A cohort of 50 students was selected for a 12-month long residential coding boot camp. The five-year goal is to train 20,000 Jamaicans in software development so that Jamaicans can become software producers and not just software consumers. In addition to software development, the first cohort was exposed to conflict resolution training. Amber Technologies has committed to employing 100 per cent of the graduates of the first and second cohorts.

As part of this partnership, the foundation confirmed support for the MOEYI to pilot a fun and interactive coding programme in the fourth and ninth grade classes of 20 selected schools. The schools who were selected committed to having all students in the grade participate and ensured that they all had tablets and the MOEYI assisted with data/internet gaps. A total of nine of the foundation’s adopted schools were included in the programme where seven confirmed interest by way of their invitation and two were selected by the MOEYI. The three-month pilot commenced in May 2021 and following the completion, the results will be assessed so the ministry can make a decision regarding curriculum adoption.

“We are focused on empowering Jamaicans through digital education because we are bought into the vision of Jamaica becoming more than consumers of technology. We must also become producers of digital solutions such as software, digital content, data-based products, etc. Consuming means we are always spending, often on imported solutions. Producing means we begin earning and the beauty about digital solutions is that they can be sold seamlessly all over the world. Population size or GDP are not limiting factors for becoming a global digital powerhouse and the NCB Foundation intends to play a major role in making this Jamaica’s reality. We will do this by playing a pivotal role in accelerating the digital transformation of Jamaica by expanding our country’s pool of digital producers. This partnership is a key part of fuelling this pipeline of digital producers and we are proud to be a part,” noted Nadeen Matthews Blair, CEO, NCB Foundation.

The Amber HEART Coding Academy is the brainchild of the founder and CEO of the Amber Group, Dushyant Savadia, and is a partnership with the HEART/NSTA Trust, the Housing Opportunity Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme and the Art of Living Foundation.

“The Amber Group’s mission is to do good and create change in the world through technology. We invested in these students because we know that with the right tools, they can soar and transform not just their lives but the nation as well with what they create. Amber is pleased to have on board the NCB Foundation who has bought into our vision of creating Jamaica into the next technological hub of the region,” noted Savadia.