Microsoft Leap Apprenticeship Program 2021 for young Africans

Application Deadline:February 27, 2021

The Microsoft Leap Apprenticeship Program’s mission is to recruit, develop, and upscale unconventional talent for employability into the technology industry worldwide.

At Microsoft, we know there are many pathways into the technology industry and into our organization. We’re constantly looking for new ways to create unconventional entry points for talent and leverage the skills and experiences of talent from outside the traditional academic paths.

In 2015, we launched the Leap Program to introduce more people to work in the tech industry. The program offers an immersive 16-week apprenticeship for those who have a base foundation of technical training. This apprenticeship program combines in-classroom learning with hands-on engineering projects, working on real teams and real products within our organization such as Azure, Xbox, Bing, and Office365.

Leap participants are change catalysts and change multipliers: they bring a diverse set of personal experiences and cognitive abilities to their work as well as to their colleagues and communities at Microsoft. They play a vital role in advancing engineering processes, accelerating innovation and activating inclusion as a part of Microsoft culture.

Whether it’s a stay-at-home parent interested in re-entering the workforce or someone who is ready for a ‘second act,’ the stories from current and former participants are truly inspiring. Not only is Leap launching new cohorts across the country and the globe, but it’s also re-launching the lives of countless individuals looking to make an impact.

Requirements

• We’re looking for candidates who are lifetime learners with broad professional experience to join the Leap Program. We seek individuals who demonstrate passion, resilience, and determination. At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. That’s what inspires us, drives our work, and pushes us to challenge the status quo every day.
• Successful candidates will have graduated from a project/program management boot camp or from a coding academy. They will have at least 6 months of professional project management experience or professional software development experience.

Pathways

Customer Service
Engineer

A data analyst is someone who draws meaningful information from data and data sources using data analysis tools. These results, which are pulled from the raw data, helps their employers or clients make relevant decisions to their businesses by identifying various insights, facts and trends.

Cohort Location:
Lagos, Nigeria More about Customer Service Engineer

Data Analyst

A data analyst is someone who draws meaningful information from data and data sources using data analysis tools. These results, which are pulled from the raw data, helps their employers or clients make relevant decisions to their businesses by identifying various insights, facts and trends.

Cohort Location:
Lagos, Nigeria

More about Data Analyst

Software Engineer

Software Engineers are all about implementation across the full stack of Microsoft’s products. Whether building the front-end of software, back-end APIs or testing coverage, a software engineering role is all about the code.

Cohort Locations:
Atlanta, Georgia
Lagos, Nigeria
Nairobi, Kenya
Redmond, WA
Reston, VA
Sunnyvale, CA

More about Software Engineer

Software Support Engineer

Software Support Engineers work as part of a team to help locate, isolate, and troubleshoot to find bugs, edge-cases, and workarounds. This requires learning how to connect to customers to help program managers and UX designers create and deliver solutions.

Cohort Location:
Lagos, Nigeria

More about Software Support Engineer

Upcoming Cohort Information

Cohort dates: March 22, 2021 – August 20, 2021 – Part-time

Nairobi, Kenya

• Application portal opens January 12, 2021 at 12:00 AM UTC
• Application portal closes February 27, 2021 at 12:00 AM UTC 
• Senior Software Engineer
• Online only – classroom online and apprenticeship online
• Part-time: 5 – 7 PM every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday & 9 AM – 4 PM every Saturday
• See eligibility requirements below

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Microsoft Leap Apprenticeship Program 2021