Partnership between Old Mutual's Tech Hub and Richfield signals KZN as SA's new Silicon Valley

Old Mutual launched its Tech Hub in Umhlanga, Durban to bring a Silicon Valley-like innovation space to KwaZulu-Natal that will nurture a pipeline of skilled talent who will solve for our country’s current constraints. As a leading IT institution with a track record of more than 30 years, Richfield is proud to be Old Mutual’s partner of choice, to supply skilled talent in the various areas of disruptive and emerging technologies.

The partnership enables Richfield students to access work-integrated learning placements, immersive internships, vacation work opportunities, and permanent employment. The partnership has already yielded great results with a number of Richfield graduates already employed by Old Mutual, and more of our students and graduates are
in line to be absorbed by the financial giant.

"We are thrilled to partner with Old Mutual to provide our students with an unparalleled advantage in the competitive job market," said Dr Stephen Akandwanaho, dean Faculty of Information Technology. "This collaboration will empower our students with hands-on experience, mentorship, and exposure to industry best practice, enabling them to seamlessly transition from academia to fulfilling tech careers. The relationship is a win-win partnership.”

Richfield’s world-class IT curriculum is at the forefront of innovation, designed to empower students with the skills that matter most to employers. Under the Faculty of Information Technology, Richfield students have the option of specialising in Programming, Network Engineering, Business Analysis, IT Management and Emerging Technology.

The cutting-edge curriculums are designed to, among others, produce the best data scientists, artificial intelligence experts and python developers. Besides the formal curriculum, our students also have the opportunity to stack micro-credentials in partnership with Amazon Web Services, Cisco, IBM, Oracle and Salesforce, all of which happens within their duration of study. Now, by providing our students with access to Old Mutual’s state-of-the-art tech hub, we are ensuring that our graduates are not just job-ready, but innovation-ready too.