KINGSTON, Jamaica — After only some eight months in operation, the Amber/Heart/NSTA Coding Academy project has been ranked among the top 10 non-profit technology projects by industry publication, Nearshore America.

Nearshore America noted that the project, Jamaica’s first ever coding academy, was launched in January as a partnership between the Government-owned HEART Trust/NSTA and Housing Opportunity Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme and the world renowned Art of Living Foundation.

Coding is what makes it possible for people to create computer software, apps and websites.  Learning coding empowers students to do many things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do, including crafting their own websites, becoming a career coder or start a technology business and understand the technology shaping the world.

The Government has a five-year goal of training 20,000 Jamaicans in software development  through the programme and, as the publication quoted Prime Minister Andrew Holness, “the Amber HEART/NSTA Trust Coding Academy is a groundbreaking first step towards achieving our vision of positioning Jamaica as a technology and innovation hub.”

“Jamaica has been taking bold steps toward building vibrant technological hubs in the island, attracting attention as an emerging software development outsourcing location,” Holness added.

The academy, which was officially launched on January 14 this year, was the brainchild of the Founder and CEO of the Amber Group, Dushyant Savadia. According to Savidia, last year, the software development market was valued at US$487 billion and is expected to continue to grow within the COVID-19 context this year.

Also included in Nearshore America’s other Top 12 non-profit coding projects is the Eon Reality and University of the West Indies Virtual Reality Lab in Trinidad and Tobago, which is set to reach around 5,000 people, with training in areas such as engineering, tourism and various global services.

 “This programme has produced a lot of excitement. Now we are looking how to transform that into actual value for industry,” says Dr Luz Longsworth, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Open Campus.

He said that the university has met with organizations such as the Jamaican Promotion Agency (JAMPRO).

“We want to demonstrate what this can do to elevate skills and integrate new practices into the workforce,” Longsworth told Nearshore Americas.

Amber Group Limited is a global technology company founded in 2015. It based in Jamaica, with operations in 23 countries including India, Africa, the US, Canada and the Caribbean.

Balford Henry