As South Africa continues to grapple with a shortage of skilled technology professionals, a long-running partnership between redAcademy and Lewis Group is demonstrating the power of sustained collaboration.
The relationship is now entering its fourth year and serves as a powerful example of how big industry players and training institutions like redAcademy can work together to build meaningful career pathways for young people. To date, more than 90% of redAcademy’s total graduates have been employed in IT teams after graduation, 7 of which were employed and are still working at Lewis Group today.
The programme combines real-world software development training with on-the-job exposure to live projects across Lewis Group’s business. The goal, says redAcademy’s MD Jessica Hawkey, is to ensure that graduates have tailored technical and professional skills they need so that they are work-ready for the specific role they are stepping into with their employer. “We want to create a sustainable pipeline of work-ready talent for the tech sector by giving graduates hands-on experience so that they can enter the organisation that they have been trained for and add value from their very first day.”
This type of programme is especially important given the fact that there appears to be a mismatch between the skills young people have and the kind of experience employers expect. This is according to 2025 research from Collective X, which shows that a total of 118,000 digital roles remain unfilled and about 41,000 of these are for entry-level roles.
“This is the exact challenge we were facing at Lewis Group.”Many of our new hires come straight from university with academic backgrounds but limited practical experience, so it takes considerable time to help them become familiar with our processes,” says Arno Geldenhuys, Head of Information Technology for Lewis Group. “The redAcademy business model appealed to me because it’s beneficial for us to be able to bring in new people who have more practical knowledge and experience working in a real business environment. And what we’ve seen over the years is that the kind of people that come through redAcademy are willing to work hard, are open to learning, and are really passionate about what they do.”
Lewis Group was actually redAcademy’s very first partner, explains Hawkey, adding that the relationship between the two brands has grown and developed over the years. Initially, redAcademy was focused on role-ready talent within software engineering. But as the business needs changed, we have evolved to also include Quality Engineering and Data Science. Being able to expand the programme based on business demand aligns perfectly with what redAcademy is all about. It’s not just training for training’s sake. It’s about developing the skills the industry really needs.”
Since collaborating with redAcademy, the Lewis Group has experienced substantial growth in its development team. “As you grow, your team needs to grow too. But we don’t have the luxury of having a big team that can provide continuous training. What we need is people who want to work and are ready to work from day one, and this is what we get from redAcademy,” concludes Geldenhuys. “
Reflecting on our initial beginnings several years ago, my expectation was that we would form a partnership for a defined period, expand our team through strategic hiring, and subsequently pursue new opportunities. But with the way the IT world is changing, especially with the rise of AI, being able to access new and relevant skills is an incredible business opportunity for both of us.”
RedAcademy’s work with Lewis Group is a great example of a company actively investing in building local talent, says Hawkey. “They’re not just talking about it. This isn’t lip service. This is years of real investment into addressing the skills shortage in South Africa,” she adds. “The impact of this partnership extends beyond direct business and economic benefits; it is also transforming the lives of the people who go through the programme who leave redAcademy with skills, experience, and a sustainable and meaningful career path in front of them.”
