How BongoHive Consult creates a pipeline of top software engineering talent. As an innovative and solution-driven organisation, we recognize the value and new skills that young talent can bring to the development of viable solutions.

In June 2019, we launched the Consult Internship Programme under BongoHive Consult, in order to train top software engineering talent.

This is a hands-on, immersive programme that enables interns to have access to tools, platforms, and experiences to build feasible solutions that change the world.

Phase 1: The Consult team developed material for the candidates to complete as part of their application process. Applicants were given two weeks to run through the material and attempt assignments on GitHub. Candidates were not required to have prior experience in software development, but a tech background or strong interest in software development was necessary. We received a total of 57 applications.

Phase 2: Following the successful completion of the assignments, 30 applicants were called in for a day to hack together. The prescribed tasks helped the Consult team to assess candidates’ ability to work both as individuals and within teams.

Phase 3: The candidates who performed the best during the two sets of assessments were called in for interviews, and the top 6 were selected to begin the internship programme.

By participating in the programme, the interns had the chance to work on projects from start to finish and also had access to mentors whilst acquiring industry-worthy hands-on skills. Additionally, the interns had access to the BongoHive employee community and further stood a chance to be onboarded as full-time employees depending on their performance.

The three candidates who recently completed the programme and were signed as full-time Software Developers at BongoHive Consult shared the skills they had acquired during the 6 months they participated in the programme;

• Learning new coding skills and language
• Managing tasks in Jira (software which is is part of a family of products designed to help teams of all types to manage work)
• Learning how to set up servers

Apart from acquiring tech skills, the candidates had insight on how to integrate entrepreneurship with technology. The team also represented BongoHive Consult at corporate events and further improved their networking and communication skills. They also gained a better understanding of what BongoHive is and how they can strategically position themselves to bring innovative ideas to the organisation.

Based on the success of the Consult Internship programme, we hope that we can continue to provide opportunities such as these as a means for how we can contribute to the development and upskilling of the youth in Zambia.

Would you like to work with us? Email us: contactus[a]bongohive.co.zm or call: +26 095 301 7526