What is SIMAD iLab Top Talent?

SIMAD iLab Top Talent is a brand-new talent recognition award to unearth the best talents nurtured at SIMAD iLab. These young super talented Somalis have demonstrated proficiency of their respective skill tracks and are ultra-skilled; hence, they have earned a position of our very competitive and selective pool of top talents. To be awarded for this prestigious accolade, it takes a consistent demonstration of commitment, self-discipline, work ethic, unmatched skill acquisition, and most importantly, a potential to grow fast. We recognize these young talents to give them a well-deserved visibility and connect them to the labor market.

We also established the Top Talents award to support the private and public sectors with top notch skilled labor. The list will be updated every 100 days to enable our hiring partners to get access to the best talents in Mogadishu. SIMAD iLab Top Talent award is the first of its kind that recognizes and celebrates the best skilled Somali youth who are on their own league when it comes to skill proficiency; hence, a reason we want them to be noticed by the market.

Who Gets Selected for the Award?

We recognize talents based on the graduates from our different skill building portfolio such as the Digital Skills for Jobs, The Next Economy, Empower NextGen, Shape Your World, MOOCs programs, Bic Somali and Professional Certification Progrsms. These programs produce youth skilled in digital marketing, graphics design, web development, mobile apps development, venture creation, design thinking, and job-related skills. Upon selection for the award by our juries, the winners will all be available for hiring.

We are introducing SIMAD iLab Top Talents to tackle a very well-known problem in Somalia related to unemployment: a mismatch of the market and the academia. Talk to private companies in Somalia and ask them why they are not hiring the >15k fresh annual graduates from local universities. Their answer? The graduates are not talented enough to be hired. Sounds a familiar answer, right? We also think so.

Talents selected for the SIMAD iLab Top Talents award🥇will be ready for the labor market to absorb them immediately. A hypothetical assumption will dearly believe will be proven right.  #iLab_Top_Talents Award.