Amazon launches AWS Skills Centre in Cape Town
Premier Alan Winde and Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, along with national government officials, attended the official launch of the AWS Skills Centre in Cape Town, the first such reported centre outside of the United States.
The centre aims to provide accessible cloud skills training, including free foundational cloud training, for individuals interested in cloud computing and its potential career opportunities.
“We look forward to working with AWS to bring powerful training resources to the residents of South Africa. By investing in our people and their future, we are also investing in South Africa’s future and advancing our stature in the global economy,” said Alan Winde, Premier of the Western Cape.
Minister Wenger added, “Guided by our recently adopted economic action plan, ‘Growth For Jobs’, the Western Cape Government is on drive to drastically boost economic growth that will create jobs by enabling the private sector. Two of the seven priority focus areas of Growth For Jobs speak directly to attracting investment and to ensuring that our residents are equipped with the skills they need to take advantage of job opportunities, both now and in the future. The opening of this impressive skills centre by AWS is exactly the kind of investment and skills development programmes we are looking to attract to the province because investment generates economic growth, which then leads to job creation.”
The facility, which is open to all, allows people to explore how cloud computing technology is powering everything from weather predictions to smart homes and features immersive exhibits demonstrating real-world cloud applications, live instructor-led training, and resources for earning an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification.