Information Technology
Career Cluster
Information Technology has become one of the fastest-growing career disciplines due to the numerous career opportunities it presents. In addition to innovation and entrepreneurship, a career in information technology provides immense employment opportunities across all industries. The profession can improve efficiency and empower humans to be more productive in their fields of endeavour. Careers in information technology span from the design, development, implementation, deployment, installation, management and support of hardware, software, and network systems and digital services in other sectors such as education, healthcare, media, commerce, marketing and communications.
Information technology is also one of the most dynamic careers. There is a constant need for continual learning to remain relevant in the industry. Despite the availability of some free and premium training and certifications accessible to people without IT-related degrees, there remains a huge demand for IT professionals and a shortage of IT skills in the labour force. Top IT professionals are a hot cake in the workplace today.
The IDC projects that the information technology industry will surpass $5.3 trillion in 2022. This is a return to the industry’s previous growth pattern of 5%-6% growth year over year after the slowdown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry’s largest markets are the United States, Europe and China, though developments have been rapid across the globe. A Statista data report projected that worldwide full-time employment in the ICT sector would reach 55.3 million in 2020 (pre-COVID-19 estimation), an increase of 3.9 per cent over 2019.
The digital economy, powered by information technology, was worth $11.5 trillion globally. It is equivalent to 15.5 per cent of global GDP. It has grown two and a half times faster than global GDP over the past 15 years (by 2019), according to researchers’ estimate in a Brookings 2019 report. According to Gartner’s forecast, IT spending on services, infrastructure, and software would rise to $3.8 trillion, a 3.2 per cent increase from $3.7 trillion in 2018.
Africa
The African Development Bank projected more than a decade ago that Africa’ICT market would exceed US$150 billion by 2016. This has since been surpassed. A Google-IFC report on Africa’s internet economy projects that the Internet economy has the potential to contribute $180 billion to Africa’s economy growing by 2025, reaching $712 billion.
According to a Brookings Institution report, in recent years, the ICT sector in Africa has grown, a rising trend, with mobile technologies and services alone having generated 1.7 million direct jobs (both formal and informal). In addition, it has contributed $144 billion of economic value (8.5 per cent of the GDP of sub-Saharan Africa) and contributed $15.6 billion to the public sector through taxation.
The continent’s largest ICT markets are Nigeria for consumers and South Africa for enterprises. Morocco and Egypt follow these, and Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda follow. Africa had more than 643 innovation hubs by 2020. Global technology companies like Microsoft, Google and Facebook are opening offices and development centres on the continent.
Ghana
Ghana’s ICT sector plays a vital role in Ghana’s broader economic growth. It is a sector that continues to expand despite the broader economy’s fiscal constraints and currency devaluation. Industry experts estimate that the Ghananian ICT sector is valued at about $1 billion and may reach $5 billion by 2030. Ghana’s ICT sector comprises the telecommunications segment, which makes up the vast majority with 2.9 million Dollars, from an estimated 5.48 billion Dollars in 2017
According to industry participants and analysts, the industry is broken into subsectors: Digital infrastructure, including data centres, fibre optic cables, etc.: $400 million; Software (sales of software by companies like Oracle, IBM and SAP): $200 million; Cloud infrastructure: $15 million; Cybersecurity: $30 million; Fintech, Health-tech and Ed-tech: $115 million; Training and services: $150 million.
Kenya
Digital Economy Blueprint reports that mobile technologies and services generated 7.1% of GDP or US$110 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2017. According to the Kenya National Economic Survey report of 2019, the value of the ICT sector expanded by 12.9% from Ksh. 345.6 billion in 2017 to Ksh 390.2 billion in 2018, driven by growth in the digital economy.
Nigeria
According to Nigeria’s Bureau of Statistics (NBS), ICT contributed more than 15% of Nigeria’s GDP by 2021, higher than it did the previous year. According to the US Trade portal, Nigeria is Africa’s largest ICT market, with 82% of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29% of internet usage. Telecommunications and digital financial services have been Nigeria’s most prominent industries in Nigeria’s ICT sector.
A 2017 United Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report disclosed that Nigeria’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector employed 479,000 people. In the same year, a report by Jobberman estimated that financial services within Nigeria’s digital economy could add $88 billion and create over 3 million new jobs by 2027. An in-depth profile of Nigeria’s Information Technology industry can be found here: https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-information-and-communications-technology.
South Africa
One of Africa’s largest information and communications technology (ICT) markets is found in South Africa, which also exhibits technological leadership in mobile software, security software, and online banking services. Companies including IBM, Unisys, Microsoft, Intel, Systems Application Protocol (SAP), Dell, Novell, and Compaq all have subsidiaries in South Africa.
The South African ICT sector, which accounted for over 8% of South Africa’s GDP in 2020, is estimated to have more than 20,000 businesses.
According to a report by the International Trade Administration, South Africa’s ICT industry was estimated to be worth $5.53 billion in 2020 and projected to be worth $6.75 billion in 2022.
5G Connectivity: the fifth generation of cellular broadband connectivity provides ultra-high-speed, lower latency and greater capacity than 4G LTE networks.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: software applications that use machine learning algorithms to learn from data and demonstrate human-level intelligence in performing tasks have become ubiquitous.
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies: This digital ledger keeps its record for duplication across a distributed network of computers instead of being dependent on a 3rd party provider. The use of this technology in digital currencies has led to the rise of cryptocurrencies.
Internet of Things and Big Data: sensor devices connected across the infrastructure to gather and process data in a stream to obtain descriptive and predictive insights.
Cybersecurity: the digital transformation across all industries has led to more vulnerabilities to internet threats which cybersecurity protects from attack as critical systems.
Edge Computing: distribution of computing infrastructure for data storage and processing to be closer to where they are used for higher speed.
Low to No Code Tools: visual tools that allow non-programmers and individuals with less technical skills to build consumer and business applications.
Quantum Computing: big tech companies are investing in quantum computers capable of carrying out computations at a much faster rate using quantum physics.
Robotic Process Automation: Robotic process automation (RPA) is the automation of routine performance by emulating human actions in interacting with software systems.
Cloud Computing: delivery of data storage, servers, databases, networking, and software through the internet, making it possible to access and utilise computing services remotely.
Extended reality (XR): a combination of real-and-virtual collaborative environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables.
International
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
Ghana
The National Information Technology Agency, National Communications Authority, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Communications
Kenya
Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, The Communications Authority of Kenya, Communication Commission of Kenya, National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation
Nigeria
Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC)
South Africa
State Information Technology Agency (SITA)
Innovation Opportunities
Shortage of Talent: the rapid growth in digital technologies across industries has led to a rise in the demand for jobs in the development and management of IT systems. Innovators are creating programmes outside formal education to accelerate the transition into tech careers by closing the knowledge gap and collapsing other barriers to entry.
Skill Gaps: the rate of change within the information technology industry and its impact on other sectors make continual learning adaption through re-skilling and upskilling crucial for tech and other workers. Platforms to assess staff skill gaps and provide targeted training modules are becoming increasingly available.
Retention of Talent: the challenges posed by the shortage of talents and skill gaps have made the competition for talent intense and challenging for employers to keep staff. Remote work has allowed employers to widen their talent pool and hire remote staff at salaries at competitive rates in their countries, though comparatively less in the technology hotbeds.
Fake Content: this extends from fake news to deep-fake content generated by machine learning technologies fuelled by virality in an age of social media to threaten harmonious living in communities and the democracies of Nations. Companies have responded with content filtering algorithms and personnel and empowered users to report such content.
Widening Technology Gap: there is a big divide between infrastructure investments and human capital between developed and developing countries. Only a few nations take the lead as producers, while others play catchup as consumers of technology. These have led some governments to respond with protectionist policies in managing their IT infrastructure and storage of data.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: the high rate of dependence of every facet of our society on information technology has made IT infrastructure critical. Downtimes lead to loss of business and can be costly to human lives. Therefore, backup and protection of IT infrastructure have become a priority for the government of many nations.
Rise in Cybercrime: data, IT infrastructure and users are increasingly vulnerable to bad actors who use technological and social engineering tools to gain authorised access to data for malicious purposes. These have led to the rise of the cybersecurity industry, which offers proactive and responsive solutions to cyber threats and attacks.
Uncertainty on the Impact of AI: artificial intelligence’s potential to replicate human-like intelligence in several activities can be disruptive to billions of jobs. In a bid for efficiency and cost savings, private-sector employers are increasingly investing in such IT systems to be competitive. Upskilling employers for new jobs created by information technology can mitigate these threats.
Ethical Concerns: artificial intelligence empowers machines to make decisions on the Warfield. This will also apply increasingly to our everyday lives with driverless car insight. Another critical area is gene sequencing. The ethical implications of empowering artificial intelligence to make these decisions and determining what decisions they will make at crucial moments are rekindling the debate about right and wrong.
Governments and Regulations: technology companies have come under the radar of several governments for their business practices. Governments are increasingly using the data from IT companies to create surveillance systems and cracking down on citizens based on their access to data.
General areas of research in Information technology include:
- ICT for development: computing systems and role in providing solutions to social, ecological, political, and other challenges; ethics of computing; applications of IT in critical sectors such as education (e-learning/LMS), healthcare (digital health, e/m-health, bio/health informatics), finance (e/mobile/internet – banking/fintech), public service (e-governance), and environment.
- Artificial intelligence: models, methods, uses; design, technological and socio-economic impact of intelligent systems design for processing data and information; machine learning algorithms, supervised and unsupervised learning methods; text mining, text analysis, computational linguistics, and computer vision.
- Networks: representation, design, modelling, setup, infrastructure and analysis; infrastructure, telecommunications, and software-defined networks.
- Security: data confidentiality, integrity and authenticity; user authentication; privacy, security, and trust with information systems; cybercrime; threat and vulnerability identification and analysis.
- Human-Computer Interaction: usability; user interface/experience design, natural language processing; design thinking; adaptive and responsive design; augmented/virtual/extended reality, metaverse; wearable devices; decision support systems; virtual learning environments and workspaces for collaborative work.
- Data and Algorithms: data structures; data curation and life cycle management; data analysis and visualisation, data processing and mining, selection and optimisation of algorithms; machine learning algorithms, computability theories;
- Information Systems: requirements gathering and business analysis; digitisation of business processes; management information systems; market information systems; human resource management systems; considerations for selection; and organisational impact.
Other areas include:
- Computer Hardware and Associated Peripherals: Computer architecture, Micro-processor design, development and production and High-Performance Computing.
- Software Development: Originating algorithms and theoretical computer science, Artificial intelligence, Cyber and internet crimes, including internet security and e-banking fraud prevention, Bio-informatics, Biometric security, Local input into web content development, Social influence of the web, including digitalisation of unique and rare documents, Market inventory and software needs assessment of various local industry applications (where we are, where we need to be and where we can contribute), Intelligent/cognitive tutoring systems (including the development of intelligent tutor authoring systems), and Multi-lingual systems (local languages).
- Multimedia and Animation: Multimedia computing (particularly for education and public enlightenment), Animation and its applications, and Simulation.
- Data Banks: Development of web-based national data banks for healthcare, education, agriculture, manufacturing and other critical sectors of the economy.
- Disruptive technologies: Blockchain technologies, digital and cryptocurrencies, collaborative commerce
- Software Engineering: Model Driven Engineering, Green Software Development, Automated Software Testing, Software as a Service, Service Oriented Architectures, Development of Mobile Systems
- Software Applications: Health sector, agricultural sector, education, business, environment, military, other critical areas
- Local Content Development
Career Opportunities
The top career pathways include:
- IT Support and Services
- Networking and Telecommunications
- Cloud Computing and Infrastructure
- Software and Web Development
- Database and Data Science
- Information systems
- Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics
What They Do
The IT Support and Services pathway are the IT professionals responsible for the deployment, configuration and management of computer software, hardware, networks and information systems and the provision of technical assistance to users. They are responsible for the upkeep of computer systems, ensuring their uptime, meeting users needs and managing technical documentation. They attend to day-to-day technical issues that arise in the usage of computer systems in the workplace. They are also directly in cooperation with external consultants. They are responsible for training staff—management of IT projects within the organisation and periodic maintenance of IT systems.
Key Areas
Areas in Technical Support and Services include helpdesk operations, customer service, system configuration and administration, monitoring and maintaining the computer systems and networks, and product knowledge for support.
Is it for Me?
You can take the IT Support and Services pathway if you:
- Are a good listener and can give attention to people’s problem—and also if you can ask the right questions for clarity.
- Have the patience to teach others and guide them through the required action steps to arrive at a solution.
- Are hands-on, and do not hesitate to get your hands dirty to get things fixed.
- Can delve into a deep pool of information to find answers to questions and share with others.
- Can manage multiple tasks under pressure and are emotionally intelligent.
- Are comfortable creating documents to provide instruction to others and log issues.
Careers/Jobs
- Systems Administrator
- Systems Engineer
- Computer Support Specialist
- Help Desk Analyst, Manager
- Service Manager
- Customer Support Manager
- Front Line Support Manager
- Technical Services Manager
- IT Service Delivery Manager
- IT Technician
- IT Specialist
- Field Service Technician
- IT Support Lead
- Field Engineer
- Information Technology Specialist
- Desktop Systems and Support Specialist
- Technical Support Specialist and Manager
- Technical Support Coordinator, Specialist and Manager
- Computer User Support Specialists
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science/engineering, information technology and a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as management information systems, software engineering systems, and network engineering provides a foundation for a greater leeway into this career pathway. Also, an MSc in information technology and information systems is helpful. Relevant certifications that provide specific competencies for specialising in this pathway include CompTIA ITF+, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Server+, Microsoft (MTA, MSCA, MSCE), ITIL, and ITSM. Career changers can acquire these certifications without the highlighted degrees.
What They Do
Professionals in the Networking pathway of information technology are responsible for the design, implementation, and support of how organisations are connected within and to each other. Networking makes it possible for individuals within an organisation and across organisations to have their devices connected to communicate, collaborate and share resources. These make the internet and telecoms (as a mobile network) a global super-network that span regions, nations and the entire globe.
Networking professionals help set up, configure and manage Local Area Networks, Wide Area Networks, Intranets, Internets and other forms of the communication system. It also involves overseeing the communication channels of organisations such as emails. Their day to day jobs also includes the management of servers, workstations and devices. They manage the organisation’s shared data storage and software applications. It involves both hardware and software with an era of software-defined-networking (SDN)—bringing the latter to the fore. They also have to diagnose connectivity problems, slow network speeds, compromised networks and optimise networks for the best performance possible.
Key Areas
Areas in networking where graduates can specialise over time include Network design, planning and analysis, network implementation, setup and configuration. Also network monitoring, management and support, network security, unified communications, systems and infrastructure, virtualisation and cloud technologies. Graduates can also specialise in network automation, integration, and interoperation, and telecommunications etc.
Is it for Me?
You can take the Networking pathway if you:
- Enjoy working on hands-on technical projects without being overwhelmed by complexity.
- Can analyse technical issues towards providing a fix for problems.
- Are comfortable working with the latest technology.
- Can work well alone independently—and as a team. Although collaboration is required, you would be required to get a lot done on your own.
- Are always happy to be of help and do not mind solving the technical challenges faced by others.
- Enjoy being active and physically mobile. Most networking professionals work as Engineers in their early days and less as desk administrators.
Careers/Jobs
- Network Analyst/Support/Engineer/Administrator/Designer/Architect/Manager
- LAN Systems Administrator
- Network Systems Architect/Consultant/Integrator
- Network/Telecom Engineer
- Networking Systems and Distributed Systems Engineer
- Telecommunication Systems Designer
- Design Engineer
- Network Security Administrator/Analyst/Engineer/Officer,
- Systems Security Analyst/Engineer/Officer
- Network Support Technician
- Telecoms Analyst/Researcher/Engineer/Specialist
- Field Manager
- Radio Frequency Engineer
- Computer Network Support Specialists/Architects
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators
- Telecommunications Engineering Specialists
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science/engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, information technology and, a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as management information systems, software engineering, systems and network engineering provides a foundation of competencies for a greater leeway into this career pathway. And also an MSc in Network engineering, internet engineering, computer communications, security and networks.
Relevant certifications which provide specific competencies for specialising in this pathway include CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Server+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Project+, Cisco (CCT, CCNA, CCNP, CCIE and CCAr). Also, RedHat (RHCSA, RHCE and RHCA), VMWare (VCA, VCP, VCAP and VCDX), ITIL, and ITSM. Career changers can acquire these certifications without the highlighted degrees.
What They Do
The increasing yet unpredictable demand for sophisticated IT infrastructure has made Cloud computing is one of the hottest pathways in Information Technology. Cloud computing makes it possible for companies to remotely access information technology services such as applications, databases, file storage, servers, platforms and infrastructure via the internet. These are managed remotely rather than by an in-house IT professional. Consequently, companies can save cost due to the economies of scale. Also, fewer resources are allocated—to the in-house management of physical servers.
The cloud provides an elastic service that can dynamically fit into the changing need of an organisation. Expansion to the infrastructures is possible in real-time without the burden of purchasing and managing hardware. Cloud computing professionals are responsible for assessing the infrastructure requirements; and setting up and managing the cloud services of an organisation. They also help to migrate data and information to the cloud without disrupting current existing services to ensure business continuity. Their work may also extend to allocating cloud infrastructure to vendors providing services to the organisation and information security.
Key Areas
The classification of Cloud computing include:
- The cloud architecture—which is a Private cloud if done in-house or on-premise. It is a public cloud if it is off-site and accessed over the internet. It is a hybrid cloud if it is a combination of both private and public cloud.
- The nature of the service accessed via the cloud; prominent among these are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).
- The parts of the cloud service accessed—Computing, Networking and Storage.
- The technologies used—virtualisation, containerisation, automation, and integration.
Is it for Me?
You can take the Cloud Computing pathway if you:
- Have strong technical skills or committed to working in technical computing environments.
- Have experience and foundational skills in a range of computing concepts such as databases, programming, networking, security and infrastructure management.
- Possess strong analytical and communication skills that can help determine and communicate project requirements.
- Can motivate and direct your self-learning with online resources without waiting to be in a classroom environment.
- Are comfortable to keep learning more on the job, which may require getting certified in several technologies.
Careers/Jobs
- Cloud Engineer
- Development Operations Engineer (DevOps)
- Cloud Architect/Administrator
- Cloud Infrastructure Lead
- Cloud Infrastructure Engineer/Reliability Engineer/Security Engineer
- Cloud Security Analyst/Engineer/Consultant/Specialist
- Cloud Implementation Engineer
- Cloud Security Architect
- DevOps Cloud Engineer
- Cloud Data Scientist & ML Engineers
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science and engineering, information technology, and a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as management information systems, software engineering, systems and network engineering provide a foundation of competencies for a greater leeway into this career pathway. The leaders in the cloud computing space are Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. VMWare is one of the leaders in virtualisation. The following certifications are available:
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, Cloud Practitioner, and Certified SysOps Administrator.
- Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer, Professional Cloud Architect, and Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer
- Microsoft Certified: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals, Azure Administrator Associate, and Azure Solutions Architect Expert
- VMWare Associate (VCA), Professional (VCP). Advanced Professional (VCAP) and Expert (VCDX)
Also available are modules for certifications in these specialisations that include development, operations, networking and infrastructure, data engineering and machine learning. Other relevant certifications which provide specific competencies for specialising in this pathway include CompTIA Cloud Essentials+, CompTIA Cloud+, Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), Microsoft MTA Developer, Microsoft Azure, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, Cisco CCNA Cloud and CCNP Cloud, MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure (Microsoft), Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), ITIL, and ITSM. Career changers can acquire these certifications without the highlighted degrees.
What They Do
What does Microsoft Word, iOS and Instagram have in common? They are programmed applications developed to run on a laptop or a mobile device. They can also run on both through a web browser. Software and Web Development professionals develop these applications. Their work extends from gathering requirements to analysing the needs of users, coming up with the design of databases and interfaces, planning the functionalities, writing the code, testing and debugging, installation for users and deployment for enterprises, maintenance and revising these applications for better performance and accommodating new user and performance requirements as updates.
Software development is both a science and an art. It is a cross-disciplinary endeavour. Hence, the application of both project management and engineering practices in developing applications. Despite tales of application developers as lone geniuses coding all night in their rooms, globally, the most used software applications are developed collaboratively with roles distributed across the development team. This collaboration is crucial in developing applications that are specific to industries where domain knowledge is required. For example, the Boeing 737 plane has more than 20 Million Lines of Code (LOC)—with aviation experts monitoring the entire software development process. Recently, the barriers to entering the software and web development field are collapsing. There are low-code to no-code development tools available—making developing mobile and web applications easier for non-technical users.
Key Areas
Areas in this pathway include:
- Mobile app development; this is usually done with Java for android apps, swift for apple platforms, and HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript for non-native mobile applications.
- Systems software also called firmware; this extends to the development of embedded systems and internet-of-things devices with programming tools such as Assembly language, C and its variants.
- Consumer and enterprise application development; are used by individuals and businesses. The latter may require competencies in other enterprise applications such as Oracle, SAP, Salesforce, MySQL and other databases or legacy applications that may require integration.
- Web development; with various programming languages such as PHP, Ruby on Rails, Javascript and Python. These languages have support frameworks that make development easier. HTML5/CSS3/Javascript are the tools for front-end development shared by all web applications.
Areas of specialisations in the development process include requirements gathering, systems analysis, database design, software architecture and planning, programming, testing, user experience design, quality assurance, and software project management.
Is it for Me?
You can take the Software and Web Development pathway if you:
- Are comfortable working independently and as a member of a team when required.
- Can teach yourself new skills while adopting new technologies without waiting to be taught in a classroom.
- Understand user needs and come up with technical solutions to ensure that their needs are satisfied.
- You are logical, can think algorithmically. You have a grasp of processes in understanding and getting things done.
- Can work long hours on projects that may require you to be alone staring at your screen while having less day-to-day interaction with others.
- You give attention to details and can keep track of complexity while working on projects.
Careers/Jobs:
- Computer Programmer
- Applications/Software/Web Developer
- Mobile App Developer
- Full-Stack/Open-Stack Developer
- Front-end/Back-end/LAMP Stack Developer
- User Experience Designer
- Software Architects/Engineer/Project Managers
- Applications Software Developers
- Computer Programmers
- Software Quality Assurance Engineers
- Systems Software Developers
- Web Administrators
- Web Developers
- Video Game Designers
- .Net Developer
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science, information technology and a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as computer engineering, software engineering/project management, and information systems provide a foundation of competencies for a greater leeway into this career pathway.
Relevant certifications which provide specific competencies for specialising in Software and Web Development include Microsoft MTA Developer, Microsoft Azure, Oracle (OCP, OCM, OCE and APEX), Salesforce Advanced Developer Certification, Google Cloud, Red Hat Certified JBoss Developer (RHJCD), Microsoft Azure, AWS Certified Developer Associate, Cloudera (CCDH), CBAP, Certified Scrum Developer (CSD), and Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP). Career changers can acquire these certifications without the highlighted degrees.
What They Do
Database and Data Science Professionals, as the name implies, are simply specialists in data. Database professionals organise, store and manage data and the performance of databases. All kinds of organisation use databases. It can be as simple as a customer record for a small business, a log of primary data from a research work lasting a decade, and as complex as a bank’s database with millions of customers and their transaction history. They ensure that data is always available when needed, back of the most up-to-date version at all times while ensuring Confidentiality, Integrity and Assurance of data.
There is a saying that data is the new oil. So also, data in its raw form can be a crude resource. Data scientists make sense of data through the process of extraction, cleaning and processing with algorithms. They use a wide range of technologies such as ETL and data wrangling tools, data visualisation applications. Also, big data query and analytics; and machine learning to analyse datasets and extract valuable insights. These datasets sometimes extend beyond text to include images, audio and videos.
Key Areas
Areas of interest include Database Architecture Design and Planning; Database Management; Data Engineering and Data Warehousing; Statistical Analysis and Data Mining; Data Visualization and Business Intelligence; Data Analysis, Machine Learning and Cognitive Learning; and Data Security. Competencies include data collection, cleaning, processing, modelling and analysis with python, R, neural networks and other deep learning algorithms.
Is it for Me?
You can take the Data speciality pathway if you:
- Analytical and curious about logical conclusions.
- Consider yourself meticulous; you can observe patterns that are not obvious.
- Enjoy statistics and have a grasp of concepts such as mode, percentile and Bayesian theorems.
- Comfortable reading and writing codes when needed without being a full-time programmer.
- Patient to go through large data sets while trying to make sense of it all.
- Can contextualise data to real-world situations which you can communicate and apply to make decisions.
- Open to self-directed, continuous learning.
Careers/Jobs
- Database Architect/Manager/Specialist
- Quantitative Analyst
- Analytics Manager
- Business Intelligence Analyst/Developer/Engineer
- Statistician
- Database Security Analyst
- MySQL Developer/Administrator
- Oracle Developer/ Administrator
- Data Analyst/Coordinator/Administrator/Engineer/Strategist/Technician/Tester
- Data Warehouse Architect/Administrator/Specialists
- Data Warehousing Engineer
- MySQL Administrator
- Database Administration Manager
- Database Administrator/Architects/Developer/ Engineer/Scientist/Specialist
- Machine Learning Engineer/Scientist
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science and engineering, information technology and a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as management information systems, software engineering, systems engineering provide a foundation of competencies for a greater leeway into this career pathway. A further degree in information systems, data science, and business intelligence help provide a solid footing. Leaders in the database space include Oracle and Microsoft. Relevant certifications provide competency for specialising in this pathway. These include CompTIA ITF+, Oracle Database Administrator Certified Associate (OCA), Oracle Database Administrator Certified Professional (OCP) and the Oracle Database Administrator Certified Master (OCM). Also, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) — Database Development Certification, Database Administration Certification, Business Intelligence Development Certification, SQL Server 2012/2014 Certification, Azure Data Scientist Associate, Azure AI Fundamentals. Other certifications include:
- SAS Certified AI & Machine Learning Professional, Certified Big Data Professional and Certified Data Scientist.
- Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Certified Senior Data Scientist (SDS) and Certified Principal Data Scientist (PDS).
- Certified Analytics Professional (CAP), Certified Associate (CCA) Data Analyst, and Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer
- Dell EMC Data Science Track (EMCDS)
- Google Professional Data Engineer Certification
- IBM Data Science Professional Certificate and Tensorflow Developer Certificate.
- Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS)
Leading application providers in data science which may provide their certifications include SAS, Tableau, PowerBI, and IBM Cognos and SPSS. Career changers can acquire these certifications without the highlighted degrees.
What They Do
Information systems are sometimes called Business/Enterprise/Management Information Systems. They provide a pathway for IT Professionals that work at the direct intersection of computer systems and organisation operations such as resource planning, finance, and service delivery. Organisations of all sizes in the private and public sector use various applications to collaborate, improve their internal operations and serve their external stakeholders better. Information systems provide several roles. From being an analyst gathering requirements to becoming an organisation’s CIO/CTO who oversees all the IT systems an organisation uses.
Information systems are not limited to software applications. They include networks, digital services, and all other IT infrastructure that fuses to support an organisation’s operation and the execution of its strategy. It is the role of information systems professional to oversee all their activities. Some of these professionals work directly in organisations, while some work as consultants with consulting firms or independently. They help gather an organisation’s system requirements, assess current operations and performance of IT systems. They also perform periodic IT system audits and ensure compliance with IT regulations, especially on data management which has become a concern for Governments globally.
Key Areas
These include:
- Requirements gathering for understanding an organisation’s needs to be captured by information systems.
- Systems analysis—to identify opportunities for improvement in business processes. And also design computer and planning system operations.
- Deployment and integration include the installation and customisation of developed or procured information system for an organisation. Also, onboarding staff and making it communicate with existing applications in the organisation or other related organisations.
- IT Audit reviews, evaluates and examines information systems, the value of systems asset, data integrity, information security, data processing practices and alignment to other parts of the organisation.
- Project management to oversee IT systems related projects— which can extend from systems development, deployment, integration, onboarding of staff; to the training of all users.
- Agile project management method has become popular in this area.
- Consulting covers one or more of the mentioned areas in advisory, support or outsourced roles on a short-term or long-term basis. The consulting is in alignment with business objectives.
Is it for Me?
You can take the Information Systems pathway if you:
- Like to work in a business environment where a high level of professionalism is required. Business acumen is an advantage.
- Are analytical and have problem-solving skills to translate organisational requirement to aid the development of technical solutions.
- Have commercial or industry awareness expressed through an interest in business operations and the latest developments.
- Have oral and written communication skills and can simplify technical concepts for everyday people.
- Are open to working with others as a team—other IT professionals or professionals from other disciplines.
Careers/Jobsa
- Business/Information Systems/ Systems Analyst
- Information Systems Consultant/Manager
- Systems Architect/Administrator/Manager
- Information Technology Infrastructure Manager
- Enterprise Architect
- Application integrator
- Technical writer
- Technology Auditor
- Enterprise Systems Manager
- Document Management Specialists
- Geographic Information Systems/Scientists/Technologists/Technicians
- Informatics Specialist
- Chief Information/Technical Officer (CIO/CTO)
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science and engineering, information technology and a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as business/management/geographic information systems, software engineering, systems/network engineering, management sciences or business studies. These degrees provide a foundation of competencies into this career pathway. Certifications that can offer you hands-on technical skills include SAP, IBM, Oracle, Salesforce, VMware, Workday, ServiceNow, Symantec. Also, Netsuite, Finacle, Infor, Epicor, Citrix Systems, and Microsoft.
Generally, relevant industry certifications include:
- Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
- Information Technology Infrastructure Library/Service Management (ITIL/ITSM)
- Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT)
- PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
- Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute (PMI)
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
- CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor
- Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Typical Employers (Experimental Feature)
- Financial institutions
- IT service companies
- Consulting firms
- Software companies
- Academic Institutions
- Hospitals
- Government Ministries/Departments/Agencies
- Retail chains
What They Do
With the immense opportunities and benefits that information technology presents come threats; created by humans with malicious intent. Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics specialists are needed here. Cybersecurity/Infosec/Information security experts work in all kind of organisations to protect states, organisations and individuals from data breaches. They also protect from other forms of attack targeted at or directed through IT systems such as applications, databases and networks. It is one of the most in-demand jobs today. Digital forensics professionals, through the backing of a company’s regulation or law enforcement agencies, investigate criminal activities which may have been aimed directly at IT systems or individuals or organisations in the physical world with the usage of digital devices.
Though skillsets used at work may be similar, a key differentiation of cybersecurity from digital forensics is that it does not wait for the occurrence/suspicion of a crime. Cybersecurity is an anticipatory practice. It starts with investigating vulnerabilities and scoping out threats to IT systems. These can be continually or periodically depending on how mission-critical the IT systems are. And also the likely interest from cybercriminals. The outcome will provide ways to strengthen the IT system. Several digital forensics professionals work as independent consultants and on-demand to investigate crimes. It may require searching through network servers, files, database changes and digital devices. Despite the differences, both are technically hands-on roles requiring an understanding of human psychology.
Key Areas
For classification by focus areas, they are:
- Application security; encompasses measures taken during the application development life-cycle to protect applications from threats. These threats can come through flaws in the application’s design, development, deployment, upgrade or maintenance.
- Information security protects information from unauthorised access to avoid identity theft and to protect privacy. The techniques used to cover this are identification, authentication & authorisation of users and cryptography.
- Network security—includes activities to protect the usability, reliability, integrity and safety of the network from various threats.
- Disaster recovery planning is a process that includes performing risk assessment, establishing priorities, and developing recovery strategies in case of a disaster.
For classification by work functions, they are:
- Penetration testing and vulnerability analysis; these are the simulations of attack, techniques and tools to analyse vulnerabilities in computer systems.
- Threat analysis. The assessment of internal and external vulnerabilities to an organisation—to test the systems against known real-world cyber-attacks.
- Data Assurance/Governance ensures the confidentiality, integrity and assurance of data throughout its creation, processing and storage. It includes people, processes, and technology that help enable the appropriate handling of the data across the organisation.
- Cryptography is the design and testing of cyphers and other security measures that codify and protect data.
Digital forensics classified into:
- Network forensics analyses network traffic for information gathering, evidence collection, or intrusion detection.
- Host-based forensics focuses on the collection and analysis of digital evidence. These are collected from individual computer systems and devices to investigate computer crime.
- Database forensics relates to the forensic study of databases and their metadata.
- Forensic Data Analysis examines structured data to discover and analyse patterns of fraudulent activities resulting from financial crime.
Is it for Me?
You can take the Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics pathway if you:
- Are a digital native comfortable with technical areas and have a foundational knowledge of many computing concepts such as networking, programming and how applications run.
- Have a high sense of awareness. You can anticipate danger and have a track record of spotting where things go wrong.
- Pay attention to details and are patient to go through voluminous files and records in getting things done.
- Are self-motivated. You do not need to be in work zones to feel like working before you get work done.
- You have some understanding of human psychology and can detect patterns in human behaviour to predict malicious intents.
- Have strong communication skills to make technical operations clear to a non-technical audience and persuade others to change their habits.
Careers/Jobs
The cybersecurity profession requires substantial experience in areas such as networking, data and web technologies. It makes entry-level roles challenging to find. Some of the available jobs are:
- Penetration tester
- Incident Analyst/Responder
- Security Architect
- Cybersecurity Analyst
- Information Security Analysts/Officer/Specialist
- Malware Analyst
- IT Security Analyst/ Engineer
- Forensic Computer Analyst
- Security Consultant
- Computer Forensics Investigator
- Computer Forensics Technician
- Information Systems Security Analyst
- Forensic Computer Analyst
- Security Systems Administrator
- Computer Security Specialist
- Data Security Administrator
- Information Security Analyst/Manager
- IT Security Analyst/Specialist/Auditor
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science and engineering, information technology is beneficial. A first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as Information Security, Cybersecurity, Network Security, Digital Forensics, Criminal Justice, and Data Governance can be beneficial. These degrees provide a foundation of competencies into this career pathway.
Generally, relevant industry certifications include:
- CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA CySA+, CompTIA PenTest+, and CompTIA CASP+,
- Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
- Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
- Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT),
- International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) CISSP, SSCP, CCSP, CAP, CDDLP, CISSP – ISSEP, and CISSP – ISSMP.
- Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) – offered by The SysAdmin Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute
- Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE) – offered by The International Association of Computer Investigative Specialist.
- Certified Computer Examiner (CCE) – offered by The International Society of Forensic Computer Examiners.
What They Do
User Experience (UX) design is the process of creating (either digital or physical) products that are useful, simple to use, and enjoyable to interact with. It’s all about improving people’s interactions with the product and ensuring they find value in what they are buying.
User experience design is a concept that has many dimensions, and it consists of a bunch of different disciplines—such as interaction design, information architecture, visual design, usability, and human-computer interaction. However, it’s all about keeping your users at the centre of everything you create.
A User Experience professional works to optimize the interaction between humans and products, and they use data to create new ideas to improve products and services.
In many ways, it is the job of a User Experience Designer to help the fulfilment of a brand’s promise and recognition that how customers feel has a huge commercial impact( i.e putting customers in mind while creating the product).
Key Areas
The specialisations of User Experience Design include:
- Interaction Design is all about how a user interacts with specific elements of a digital product.
- User Research; UX researchers focus on the research aspect of design. They conduct both qualitative and quantitative research, gathering in-depth insights into the target users.
- Information Architecture; If designing a website or app, the information architecture has a huge impact on how easy it is to navigate. And will need to understand the principle of Artificial Intelligence.
- Experience Strategy; Experience strategy is all about devising a holistic business strategy, incorporating both the customer’s needs and those of the company.
If you choose to focus on experience strategy, you might find yourself in the role of UX strategist.
Is it for Me?
You can take the User Experience Design pathway if you:
- Have the ability to organize information understandably.
- Have strong visual communication skills – this includes an understanding of concepts like layout, colour, typography, icons, images and design theory.
- Possess good collaboration skills – help in incorporating the ideas of developers, clients, and team members.
- Have strong research skills or you have mastered the ability to plan, conduct, and analyse findings from various research methods.
- Possesses an empathy spirit – the ability to understand and feel the emotions of others.
- Are curious about new trends and have an interest in continuous learning.
Careers/Jobs
- UX Researchers
- UX Writers
- UX/UI Designers
- UX Strategist
- Information Architects
- UX Developer
- Voice Designer
- Visual Designer
- Motion Designer
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
A first degree in computer science, and information technology and a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as computer engineering, software engineering/project management, product management and information systems provide a foundation of competencies for a greater leeway into this career pathway.
Relevant certifications which provide specific competencies for specializing in User Experience Include Google UX Design Professional Certificate, Adobe XD UI UX Design, Professional Diploma in UX Design, Microsoft Azure, AWS Certified Developer Associate, Cloudera (CCDH), CBAP, Certified Scrum Developer (CSD), and Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP). Career changers can acquire these certifications without the highlighted degrees.
What They Do
The IT product management pathway is the IT professionals responsible for setting the strategy, roadmap, and feature definition for a product and also influences every aspect of how it gets built and launched. They are responsible for designing, developing and managing activities from product definition & planning to production and release, and developing the product strategy and roadmap.
They work cross-functionally with customer service, sales, marketing team, project manager, and design and technology(Engineering) teams to ensure the timely and quality release of products/ enhancements. They are in constant communication with stakeholders either external or internal stakeholders. IT product management professionals are product leaders within their organizations who excel at bringing teams together around a shared understanding of customer problems and how the team will solve them.
Key Areas
Areas in IT Product Management include technical product management, strategy product management, growth product management, and product marketing management. Depending on your background, you might find one of these specialisations a more appropriate choice than the general role.
Is it for Me?
You can take the IT Product Management pathway if you:
- Possess strong problem-solving and prioritization skills
- Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Can work effectively with cross-functional teams
- Possesses good research skills to determine customer needs
- Can develop and implement marketing campaigns related to the product
- Can set sales objectives that align with consumer demand to reach sales goals
- Have the ability in defining the product vision and roadmap
Careers/Jobs
- Technical Product Manager
- Growth Product Manager
- Product Marketing Manager
- Strategic Product Manager
- Mobile Product Manager
- Product Lead
- Product Success Manager
- Product Business Manager
- Learning Product Manager
- Product Owner
- Product Consultant
- Project Manager
- Scrum Master
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
While having degrees related to this field would be of advantage, transitioning into this field without a formal related degree is still possible. Having a first degree in computer science/engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, information technology and, a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as management information systems, software engineering, systems and network engineering can provide a foundation of competencies for a greater leeway into this career pathway.
Relevant certifications which provide specific competencies for specialising in Product Management for career changers include but are not limited to: Agile Certified Product Manager And Product Owner, Certified Product Marketing Manager (AIPMM), Certified Scrum Developer (CSD), and Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Product Development and Management Association’s (PDMA) New Product Development Certification, AIPMM Certified Product Manager Credential, Pragmatic Institute’s Product Management Certification.
What They Do
IT Project Management professionals work with Product and Engineering Teams and lead high-impact projects to ensure that they are delivered on time and within budget. IT Project Managers interact with a range of internal and external stakeholders and are responsible for planning, overseeing, leading, and delivering technology projects that help the business achieve its goals.
The IT Project management profession is aimed at producing an end product(digital) that will affect some change for the benefit of the organization that instigated the project. It is the initiation, planning, and control of a range of tasks required to deliver this end product.
Key Areas
Areas in IT Project Management include transport and infrastructure, information technology, product manufacture, building and construction, healthcare, finance, and law. Depending on the industry the name may change but the areas and roles do not.
Is it for Me?
You can take the IT Project Management pathway if you:
- Have strong communication skills to be able to convey messages to clients and team members.
- Possess strong leadership and organization skills that help in coordinating and overseeing tasks that are running smoothly in line with the organization’s goal.
- Have management skills, such as team, risk, budget, and time management.
- Possesses interpersonal and collaborative skills – this allows the team to work together more productively and complete the project more efficiently.
- Can work well with project management methodology, and can apply frameworks and methodologies, such as agile and scrum, throughout the lifecycle of a project.
Careers/Jobs
- Project manager
- Scrum master
- Technical product manager
- Product Owner
- Business Analyst
- Project Consultant
Relevant Degrees, Training & Certifications
You can work in this sector without a formal degree, however, a degree in a related field will aid your growth and help you transition seamlessly. A first degree in computer science/engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, information technology, and, a first or second degree in other IT-related degrees such as management information systems, software engineering, systems, and network engineering provides a foundation of competencies for a greater leeway into this career pathway.
Relevant certifications which provide specific competencies for specializing in Project management include Project Management Professional®, Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®, PMI Project Management Ready™, Disciplined Agile Scrum Master (DASM) Certification, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Certification, Disciplined Agile Value Stream Consultant (DAVSC) Certification, Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) Certification, Disciplined Agile Coach (DAC) Certification. Career changers can acquire these certifications without the highlighted degrees.
A career in information technology will benefit from the following industry skills:
- Communication: IT is a field of communication, which is why it is referred to as ICT in several climes – most especially in the developing world. IT professionals provide solutions or support others who are not usually as technology inclined as they are. Therefore, being able to communicate provides an advantage for a successful career in the field.
- Analysis & Problem-Solving: Information technology’s universal appeal is the ability to solve problems in other fields through algorithms that automate expert skills. However, this requires the ability to translate real-world use-cases to codes through a thorough analysis of the requirements collected. It can be quite a daunting challenge, which many times requires problem-solving skills to resolve.
- Initiative & Enterprise: A career in information technology provides a lot of entrepreneurial entry due to the low entry barrier, especially in software and digital services. Initiative & Enterprise skills give the ability to spot opportunities and find a path towards turning them into a sustainable business. It has made IT professionals one of the most represented groups in the list of the world’s wealthiest people.
- Continual Learning & Adaptation: IT is a dynamic field. Technologies that seem hot today can be out of fashion in less than half of a decade. IT professionals need to continually learn to stay up-to-date on being proficient in the latest tools of their professional trade. Some of these are available as certifications from leading technology providers or as software updates that now incorporate machine learning which professionals need to adapt.
- Creativity & Critical Thinking: IT platforms provide a canvas to solve problems. However, your level of creativity and ability to think critically can help you create solutions that stand out in the marketplace amidst a pool of global competition. In a field where critical thinking is required to meet its high demand for logic, a burst of creativity can make all the difference. However, rarely does one go without the other in solving problems.
- Digital Proficiency: This is native to the field of information technology itself. Key competencies are Coding, Data and Design. Even though IT professionals may not be experts at any of these competencies, they must have a fundamental grasp. The day to day work of IT professionals revolves around them. Networking professionals may sometimes need to write a script in software-defined networking. Cybersecurity specialists may need to analyse data to detect threats. An enterprise information systems analyst may need to come up with diagrams to aid planning software integrations.
The highest paying jobs across industries are Big data engineer, DevOps Engineer, Information systems security manager, Mobile applications developer, Applications Architect, Data Architect, database manager, data security analyst, data scientist, network/cloud architect, senior web developer, site reality engineer, systems engineer, and software engineer.
IT professional work across all industries, top among them are:
- Information and Communication Technology
- Telecoms
- Fintech
- Consulting
- e-Commerce
- Digital Marketing
- Business & Professional Services
You can learn more about these industries by using the search button on the Industry Portal.
International
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), IEEE Computer Society organisations, Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), Network Professional Association, and The Association for Women in Computing (AWC)
Ghana
Institute of ICT Professionals of Ghana, Information Technology Association of Ghana, Computer Science Students Association of Ghana.
Nigeria
Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON)
South Africa
Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), South African Institute for Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (SAICSIT), and The Institute of Chartered IT Professionals (ICITP), Information Technology Association of South Africa (ITA), Institute of IT Professionals South Africa, Computer Society South Africa, Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).
Global Career Champions
Satya Nadella, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, Mark Zukerberg, Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Michael Dell, Larry Elisson, Marc Benioff.
Ghana Career Champions
Joseph Lamptey, Maxwell Techie, Ebo Richardson, Estelle Akofie-Somah, Patricia Obo-Nai
Kenya Career Champions
Katherine W. Getao, Elizabeth Ntonjira, Purity Ngina, Alphonce Juma, Bernard Chiira, Dorcas Owinoh, Emmastella Gakuo, Linda Kamau
Nigeria Career Champions
Omobola Johson, Mitchell Elegbe, Austin Okere, Juliet Ehimuan, Leonard Stanley Ekeh, Isa Ali Pantami.
South Africa Career Champions
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Lillian Barnard, Zandile Keebine, Anton Grutzmacher, Jon Jacobson, Aidan Helmbold.
International
Google, Microsoft, IBM, Accenture, Oracle, Intel, Workday, Tech Mahindra, Robert Bosch, Apple, Bolt, Amazon, Meta, HCL Technologies, SalesForce, Uber, Bloomberg L.P, SAP, MeltWater, LionBridge, HubSpot, Twitter, Ingram Micro, Dell Technologies, Apple, Infosys, Fiserve, ServiceNow, ADP, Adobe, VMWare, Intuit, SS&C Technologies, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Palto Alto Networks, Paychex, Amdocs, Autodesk, Citrix, Akamai Technologies, Twilo, Palantir, ASML, Qualcom, Boradcom, Tencent, Alibaba, Samsung, Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Meiutan, AMD, Analog Devices, Atlassian, Palo Alto Networls. Dassault Systemes, Candence, NXP, Roper Technologies, TE Connectivity, Arista Networks, Electronic Arts, Veeva Systems, Ericsson, SMI, DXC, NTT, NEC Corp, Fujitsu, Infosys, Tata Consulting Services, HP Enterprise, Capegemini, Cognizant
Ghana
Compu Ghana, Clydestone, Websoft Solutions, The SoftTribe Limited, IPMC Ghana, Microsoft Ghana, IBM, Google Ghana, Done By None, Jumia Ghana, Oracle, Tech Mahindra, Glovo, Booking.com, Robert Bosch, Apple, Bolt, Amazon, Meta, HCL Technologies, SalesForce, Globacom, Uber, Bloomberg L.P, SAP, MeltWater, LionBridge, HubSpot, Twitter, Ingram Micro, Bolt, Bloomberg, American Tower Corporation, Parallel Wireless, Tech Gulf, Twitter, Oracle, Uber, Emergent Payments, EAI Information Systems, Cisco.
Kenya
Glorium Technologies, Lafont Innovation LLC, We Are OSM, Neen Opal Inc., Graph Technologies, iDeveloper Technologies, Enovise, Serianu, Techaccess Solutions, Engsoftgroup.com, MTN, Hubtech, Cloud One, Oraco Kenya, Abba Networks, Simbanet com, Victorock Kenya, Fanan Solutions Ltd, Nestict Infotech, Host Pro Limited, Seen Technologies, Daproim Africa, Synacor Consortium Limited, Tose Tech Limited, Eagles Developers Ltd, Ilani Concepts, Querysoftke Technologies, Cloud Surveillance Limited.
Nigeria
Softcom, Sidmach Technologies, Zinox, Vatebra Limited, Quanteq Technology Services Ltd, Chams, BlueChip Technologies Ltd, Infrafocus, Datapro, Cedarview Communications, IHS Nigeria Ltd, Webb Fontainne, VAB Alliance, Truthware, Terragon Group, Tech Hive Advisory, SureBids, Parkway Projects, Centric Gateway, Cedarview Communications, Suburban, Main Data, Main One, Whoghohost, Cyberspace, Cyberpay, Cybercloud, Connected Analytics, Rack Centre, Appzone, Seamfix, INT Towers, INITS, Afmobi, Avrya Systems Ltd, Appruve Technology, Comviva, CWG, CBC, CELD, Dragnet, Dataguard, EBS, Galaxy Backbone, Huawei Technologies, Gigasec, Infobib, Inlaks, Interswitch, Mainline Digitech, Nokia Siements, Netzplan Resources.
South Africa
SAP, Microsoft, Cisco Systems (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, IBM South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Accenture (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, Rocih South Africa, CISIN, Sage, Datatec Limited, Alviva Holdings Limited, Capital Appreciation Limited, AYO Tech Solutions, EOH Holdings, Mustek Limited, Sebata Holdings Limited, Etion Limited, ISA Holdings Limited, Cognition Holdings Limited, Jasco Electronics Holdings, SilverBridge Holdings Limited, Cognician, Gijima Group, Spescom Limited, Riovic, Dimension Data, Datatec, NetSys.
Books
- The Innovators by Walter Isaacson
- Business at the Speed of Thought by Bill Gate
- Information Technology Essentials Eric Fric
- The Soul of a New Machine by Tacy Kidder
Podcasts
- Technovation
- This Week in Enterprise Tech
- Supporting IT Support
- a16z
Publications/Blogs
- CIO
- WIRED
- Techcrunch
- Techpoint
- Disrupt Africa
- TechCentral
- My BroadBand
Movies
- The Social Network
- Minority Report
- Her
- The Internship
- 2001; A Space Odyssey
Events
- Informa AfricaCom and other Regional/National Com events
- IoT Forum Africa
- Digital Payments and e-Commerce Africa Summit and Expo (Pay Africa Expo and Summit)
- African Drone Forum
- Consumer Electronics Show
https://www.comptia.org/content/it-careers-path-roadmap
https://www.microtrain.net/files/career_pathways.pdf
https://alison.com/occupations/information-support-and-services
https://www.computerscience.org/careers/software-developer/
https://jobstars.com/it-professional-associations-organizations/
https://www.abktutorials.com/computer-professional-bodies-in-nigeria/
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-information-technology-it-job-titles-2061498
https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/lists/five-tips-for-getting-a-job-in-information-technology/
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/e/How-to-Get-a-Job-in-Information-Technology
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-become-a-cloud-engineer-a-cheat-sheet/
https://www.ignite.digital/cloud-computing-jobs/
https://study.com/articles/cloud_computing_specialist_job_description_salary.html
https://www.pluralsight.com/resource-center/guides/guide-to-becoming-a-database-admin
https://collegegrad.com/careers/database-administrators
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/information-systems
https://www.unr.edu/business/departments-and-disciplines/information-systems/careers
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/11/greatlearning-data-scientist-machine-learning-engineer.html
https://www.bestcolleges.com/careers/technology/information-systems/
https://www.gmercyu.edu/academics/learn/computer-forensics-career-guide
https://www.cleo.com/blog/knowledge-base-cloud-infrastructure
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/cyber-security
https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/topic/cyber-threat-analysis/
https://www.goodfirms.co/it-services/kenya
https://www.ictak.or.ke/ https://www.cskonline.org/
https://www.weforum.org/people/katherine-getao https://avancemedia.org/2019miyk/
https://ict.go.ke/ https://www.eldis.org/organisation/A62201
Home
https://www.trade.gov/knowledge-product/south-africa-information-technology
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/south-africa-it-industry-report-2022-rankings-spending-forecasts-and-estimates-notable-players-and-their-performance-corporate-actions-regulation-influencing-factors-and-trends-301574795.html
https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/ghana-information-and-communications-technology-icthttps://iipgh.org/
https://www.ghanaweb.com/org/Information-Technology-Association-Of-Ghana-ITAG-900668https://nita.gov.gh/https://asetena.com/top-it-technology-companies-in-ghana/
https://www.glassdoor.com/Explore/top-information-technology-companies-accra_IS.4,26_ISEC10013_IL.37,42_IM1421.htm
https://thegitta.com/winners-2020/
Explore Further
Books
- The Innovators by Walter Isaacson
- Business at the Speed of Thought by Bill Gate
- Information Technology Essentials Eric Fric
- The Soul of a New Machine by Tacy Kidder
Podcasts
- Technovation
- This Week in Enterprise Tech
- Supporting IT Support
- a16z
Publications/Blogs
- CIO
- WIRED
- Techcrunch
- Techpoint
- Disrupt Africa
- TechCentral
- My BroadBand
Movies
- The Social Network
- Minority Report
- Her
- The Internship
- 2001; A Space Odyssey
Events
- Informa AfricaCom and other Regional/National Com events
- IoT Forum Africa
- Digital Payments and e-Commerce Africa Summit and Expo (Pay Africa Expo and Summit)
- African Drone Forum
- Consumer Electronics Show
https://www.comptia.org/content/it-careers-path-roadmap
https://www.microtrain.net/files/career_pathways.pdf
https://alison.com/occupations/information-support-and-services
https://www.computerscience.org/careers/software-developer/
https://jobstars.com/it-professional-associations-organizations/
https://www.abktutorials.com/computer-professional-bodies-in-nigeria/
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-information-technology-it-job-titles-2061498
https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/lists/five-tips-for-getting-a-job-in-information-technology/
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/e/How-to-Get-a-Job-in-Information-Technology
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-become-a-cloud-engineer-a-cheat-sheet/
https://www.ignite.digital/cloud-computing-jobs/
https://study.com/articles/cloud_computing_specialist_job_description_salary.html
https://www.pluralsight.com/resource-center/guides/guide-to-becoming-a-database-admin
https://collegegrad.com/careers/database-administrators
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/information-systems
https://www.unr.edu/business/departments-and-disciplines/information-systems/careers
https://www.kdnuggets.com/2020/11/greatlearning-data-scientist-machine-learning-engineer.html
https://www.bestcolleges.com/careers/technology/information-systems/
https://www.gmercyu.edu/academics/learn/computer-forensics-career-guide
https://www.cleo.com/blog/knowledge-base-cloud-infrastructure
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/cyber-security
https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/topic/cyber-threat-analysis/
https://www.goodfirms.co/it-services/kenya
https://www.ictak.or.ke/ https://www.cskonline.org/
https://www.weforum.org/people/katherine-getao https://avancemedia.org/2019miyk/
https://ict.go.ke/ https://www.eldis.org/organisation/A62201
https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/ghana-information-and-communications-technology-icthttps://iipgh.org/https://www.ghanaweb.com/org/Information-Technology-Association-Of-Ghana-ITAG-900668https://nita.gov.gh/https://asetena.com/top-it-technology-companies-in-ghana/https://www.glassdoor.com/Explore/top-information-technology-companies-accra_IS.4,26_ISEC10013_IL.37,42_IM1421.htmhttps://thegitta.com/winners-2020/
Industry Programmes
- Accenture | Know The Code
- Accenture | Developer Programme
- Accenture | Project Management
- Accenture | Product Design
- bp | Digital Design and UX
- Cisco | Intro to Software Engineering
- EA | Software Engineerng
- Cognizant | Agile Methodology
- Cognizant | Artificial Intelligence
- Infosys | Power Programmer
- Mastercard | Cybersecurity
- Skyscanner | Front-End Software Engineering
- TATA | Data Visualisation
- Telstra | Cybersecurity
- Telstra | Software Engineering
- VISA | Token Service Technology