Mindware Academy aims to tackle Middle East’s technology skills shortage

Mindware, a value-added distributor (VAD) in the Middle East and Africa, has announced the launch of Mindware Academy, an initiative designed to develop young talent and help combat the challenge of IT skills shortage in the Middle East.

For a pilot programme in December, Mindware partnered with the American University of Sharjah (AUS), where a few chosen students from the University effectively completed a five-week internship. To strengthen their connection and advance their collaboration, the two institutions are currently working towards signing a memorandum of agreement. By the agreement, the University agrees to consistently offer the program’s top applicants.

The pilot program covered the following topics and information:

• Introduction to Cloud, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Cloud vs On-premise

• Security overview, Data Protection, Endpoint Security and Identity & Access Management, Datacentre and Cloud Security, Security Operations and Incident Response

• Data Center overview, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, Digital Workspace, Network Management, Server Virtualization fundamentals, Endpoint foundation

• Mindware service offerings and understanding processes from receiving the RFP, preparing the quotation, SoW, pricing and assigning engineers.

The internship provided a valuable opportunity for the students to develop their technical expertise, as well as enhance their communication and presentation abilities. Additionally, the experience helped clarify their academic paths and informed their choices for the next four years of university education.

Initially, Mindware Academy will commence operations in the UAE by offering two programs per year, with a capacity of six students per program. As the Academy continues to succeed and grow, Mindware intends to increase the number of programs offered and expand the initiative beyond the UAE, encompassing additional universities throughout the wider Middle East region.

The initial phase will feature technical skills development, but in time the program will be expanded to include sales, marketing, e-commerce, marketplace and other disciplines. These new areas will be mapped to Mindware’s requirements for talent so that once interns finish the programs, top-performing students could be presented with a job offer from Mindware.  

The President of Mindware, Mr Philippe Jarre, is the driving force behind Mindware Academy. He thinks that for the minds of tomorrow to successfully navigate the challenges of the rapidly changing tech industry, they must be prepared. He argues that there is no better way than to invest in and educate students in actual workplace situations so they can gain real-world experience and the skills they need to have a positive effect on the industry.

Mr Jarre concludes “We are excited to launch Mindware Academy and provide opportunities for the next generation of talent to learn and grow with our company. We believe this program will be beneficial for both, the interns as well as our organization, and we look forward to seeing the impact it will have. There is a skills gap in the region and this program aims to bridge that gap by providing young talent with the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience.”