Launched in 2020, Elev8 a global academy for digital leaders is providing IT training and executive programs to equip companies and individuals with the knowledge, skills and inspiration they need to harness new technology, lead digital transformation projects, develop leadership capabilities, and master new technical skills.
With its passion for driving business development and growth in a constantly evolving and increasingly challenging digital landscape, Elev8 has 7 global locations with physical campuses and has over 150 trainers and experts across the globe.
Elev8’s practical learning experiences have enabled professionals and executives to harness the power of technology while combining it with leadership to develop digital leaders.
In this article, we take a deep dive into how Elev8 is set to launch government, corporates and individuals into the digital world.
How it started
It all started with, Tek Experts a technical support organization that provides support functions for top companies or Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Examples include Microsoft’s and Microfocus.
Supporting this type of technology in today’s fast-paced environment, there is a need for constant training, retraining, upskilling, and reskilling for the engineers so that they can effectively support these technologies.
At the offset Elev8 was like the IT department of Tek Experts, responsible for supporting young engineers with little or no experience, equipping them with training that can move them from beginners to experts, making them compete with their peers anywhere in the world.
Subsequently, owing to the success it has recorded over the years, the firm decided to set out for non-sister companies in enterprises, government and individuals, deploying the same principles, processes, methodologies.
Elev8 launched in Costa Rica as its first base of operation, while Nigeria became the second. With the company currently launched in Qatar while operating a facility in Rwanda, Elev8 looks at carrying out skilling initiatives across the African continent.
Technology and Business Development
Until now technology was more of a support function for businesses in terms of automating few processes while making it more efficient.
Elemi Ani, Head of Digital Transformation and Learning at Elev8 commented:
“However, technology has become more of an enabler at some points. In other words, without it, certain critical functions of the organization will not work. Technology has now become more strategic in the way it is deployed, more than being an enabler, technology is more of a strategic function, determining competitive strength new strategies.”
This is one of the reasons, digital transformation has become the main focus at organization’s board meetings because they realize that if technology isn’t taken as a priority, young players in the industry will take over with disruptive innovation.
When organizations intend to carry out a digital transformation journey, the top executives from the strategic arm to the board level must be involved in the process, else success won’t be achieved because digital transformation impacts all aspects of the business, products, offerings, processes, and even the competitive edge.
The bottom line is, top business executives, must be supported to understand digital transformation because it is required to achieve optimally, whatever transformation tries to bring to the business.
The aim moving forward is to enable technology professionals to understand business functions or strategic intent holistically and this can be achieved by driving an alignment that will harness the full potential of technology in solving problems, meeting the needs to have a competitive edge in the marketplace, and staying sustainable.
Elev8’s milestones
In achieving its stated aim to train up to 1000 executives, Elev8 deploys a mass scaling initiative through a Business to Government (B2G) strategy, because this allows a direct conversation with the government, thereby allowing them to achieve their intent or objectives either in the short or long term.
The government is there to create that enabling environment to help its country grow while promoting GDP and other economic indices.
Speaking at that level with the government affords Elev8 the opportunity to get the mass populace of the country for skill in digital technology.
Elev8 has partnered with the Government of Qatar, skilling a whole lot of their youths and IT professionals. The company is also trying to work out a partnership with the Rwandan government while it is currently in partnership with Lagos State Government.
Elev8’s role in student skilling
Eleve8’s partnership with the Lagos State Government is geared at employability, basically, bringing people with zero or little knowledge in IT, and skilling them into having a career for themselves.
Elev8 is also open to Business to Customer (B2C) which will enable end users, experience the offerings currently being shared with the government and company executives.
Currently, in Costa Rica, Elev8 is running a pilot partnership with Universities in the country and it hopes to replicate such in Africa.
The idea behind this is to catch them young at the university level. fresh graduate and even at an experience graduate level.
Elev8’s partnership
Partnerships have to be localized, thus Elev8’s secured partnership in Costa Rica may not be applicable in Africa, therefore there is a need for partnership to be localized.
The company is actively trying to get partnerships that have training programs with an impact on the economy coupled with the kind of environment or business environments that is operated in Nigeria.
Elev8 has a partnership with Microsoft as it offers major courses from the tech giant including, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, machine learning and these advanced technologies.
Elev8 is also in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) with access to its full suite of end-to-end technology programs. In collaboration with EC-Council, Elev8 also runs cybersecurity courses including the Certified Cyber Security for Chief Information Security Officer.
The company is also looking at partnering Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to run some of its programs in Qatar. With this and more, Elev8 seeks more global and local partnerships, as it studies the market to get the right programs suited for Nigeria’s economy.
Elev8’s learning and digital transformation
Elev8 sets to understand perspectives the market requires, and the perspective can be from the government, business executives, IT professionals and young graduates.
According to Elev8 what Nigeria needs this time are both technical and non-technical skill sets, designing programs, products or courses that would help in the short, medium and long term.
Being able to sell these needs and identified solutions is also part of its offering. Elev8 also designs the right methodology for each program, such that every program would not always be delivered with the same methodology because there are different expectations and objectives at the end of each program.
Elev8 also carries out post-training evaluations, looking at learning issues and refining them to better fit into its next iteration. With constant research and partnerships, Elev8 looks forward to making process improvements.
Elev8’s Bootcamp
Elev8’s offering comes in three categories which include executive programs, technology standard courses and programs. Elev8’s bootcamp is part of the program’s offering and it is geared towards improving real-life and relatable experience.
The bootcamp is designed such that on completion participants will return to their career having new functions.
With less of a theoretical approach and more of practicals as it leverages real-life use cases. Running several iterations, the Bootcamp has seen more tractions, a testament to the company’s path in fostering digital transformation.
Elev8 and the future of work
Elev8 leverages on its extensive global brand, such that the company can replicate its success from other developed regions of the world to Africa.
Partnering with elev8 affords you the ability to understand new trends and getting positioned for the new way of work.
Since the era of COVID-19, work hasn’t been the same as automation tools and technologies that are making current work redundant or not applicable.
Elev8 is also developing new competencies that would help support the technologies deployed as its entire product portfolio is filled with new technologies, emerging technologies, and not based on skills.
Bottomline
Elev8 is keen on offering delivery, in other words, the content, how applicable and impactful it is, while also adding multiple experiences.
The company ensures users acquire a world-class experience, through its state-of-the-art technologies.
Elev8 also offers certification, thus the focus of the company is to train for improvement in your career while you can ‘credentialize’ your knowledge.
Elev8’s recent partnership ensures that users can get any international certification from its facility
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