Experienced software engineers are in top demand. You need at least 2 to 4 years of solid experience to enter this league and if you are passionate you can get this by the time you finish University. As far as I know, the mistake Andela made was thinking they can hire inexperienced but smart guys with zero computer science knowledge and train them to work for global companies, that has never worked, programming is not for everyone and even some very smart people just don't get it, that is why it is always better to go for people with solid experience.

Unfortunately it looks like Andela will have to pivot from their original mission of training Africa how to program. Now they are going for experienced guys and I suspect they will soon need to bring in eastern Europe or Indian developers to help with the workload.

Itabidi wajipange sasa. Maybe they could try contribute to some open source projects like Wordpress, Linux or Raspberry Pi.

It's unfortunate.

Perhaps they should try and develop their own apps that address common issues in our community such as:

-Gated estate management (bills, vacant houses etc)
-Dating sites (capitalise on the weaknesses of the existing ones in kenya)
-School management systems
-'logistics in demand' --> find space in logistics e.g I can take your clothes to the dry cleaner for you, i can do the supermarket shopping for you
-package the whole back to school stress as a package: Uniform, text books,exercise books, new CBC stationery, school box,supermarket shopping, possibly transport as well. If done well the developer does not need to own these products beforehand.

Therefore:
-let them become their own start ups
-Users are not interested in the seniority of the developer so long as the solution is reliable and secure.
-They have to be passionate about their career path, its continuous learning in this field and hands on otherwise it will be frustrating..

All the best them.

Have you ever tried to hire qualified software engineers locally, they are there but they won't take less than 300k, a good percentage are bringing in over 500k and the elites have no limit literally

So the gap is there locally, otherwise, these ones would be desperate to take small salaries like other engineering graduates (mechanical, electrical)

Ati What?? And I can hire better people on upworks?? How!!

There is a gap......Just not local
LinkedIn is training Food Truck drivers et al..

https://www.cnbc.com/201...d%20recruiting%20ranks.[/quote]

This strategy usually doesn't pan out in the long term. This is similar to Apple and others dropping degree requirements for code monkeys.
https://www.cnbc.com/201...e-a-college-degree.html
They are just trying to arrest the runaway compensation cost of Engineers. May be it will work out for them in the short term. For anyone considering a career in Software Engineering forgoing undergrad CS for the apprentice/bootcamp/industry-focused path is a very bad idea. Programming and Computer Science sit on a higher level, the slog in the degree breaks your brain then rebuilds it so that you are ready for any kind of programming.
The apprentice/bootcamp/industry-focused approach teaches people particular technologies (stacks) and/or languages. With dedication and hard work, you can learn and become a productive worker in a narrow context. Usually what happens is disruption arrives (or velocity keeps increasing) and suddenly adapting becomes difficult. This is because there are missing links that are taught in school. Math, analysis, comprehension, operating systems, architecture, data structures, algorithms, different kinds of programming (Procedural,OOP, FP, Logic)... You need to do school, while working and taking care of family to become a versatile engineer. It becomes a tall order, this new breed of engineers burn out or can't keep up, and the companies all go back to the true and tested method.

May be
But ....you can make a success of any chosen career. You are not losing anything, even though the stories floating around can give that impression. Success requires hard work and toughing it out. No different in IT.
The day-to-day in Software Engineering is bruising. It goes on for years and wears people down to the bone. You get worked like a donkey. After 3 to 5 years, people are seriously looking to filter up to management or leadership, and those who are unable, exit the profession.
The good thing is if you survive, your gain deep expertise. Work that needs deep experience and pays very well starts showing up. Employers are also more willing to pay after trying shortcuts and getting badly burnt (failed projects, sunk costs, opportunity costs)