Orange and OpenClassrooms have combined forces to train young Africans in digital technology

Digital training centres will be established based on the OpenClassrooms diploma with “Guaranteed employment” commitment, with the help of local partners

PARIS, France, February 23, 2018/ -- Orange (www.Orange.com) and OpenClassrooms (https://OpenClassrooms.com) are pleased to announce the signing of a broad-based partnership to provide digital training in Africa. Several Orange subsidiaries in Africa are already working on the launch of training centres providing online courses via OpenClassrooms.

To rise to the challenge of the digital revolution in Africa, students and teachers alike need to be trained in the new technology. There are two objectives for countries in Africa: to use digital technology to boost growth, and to focus on new sectors of business that create jobs. In both cases, it is essential to train young Africans to ensure the economic development of the continent in the decades to come and avoid the brain drain of strategic skills for its development. By 2050, the African population will double to reach 2.5 billion, half of whom will be under the age of 25, according to estimates by the UN. Investing in education, in particular e-education, is an absolute priority to overcome the lack of physical and technical infrastructure.

To support Africa in this major project, Orange and OpenClassrooms, leader of French-language online education, have combined forces to form a broad-based partnership to train young Africans in digital technology.

The partnership between Orange and OpenClassrooms will be formed on two levels:

    The students will have access to the OpenClassrooms courses via the mobile network. The courses can be followed on the student’s smartphone for subjects that don’t require a computer (Understanding the web, The network, Big data, Bitcoin, etc.), or on a computer with internet access via the user’s smartphone for instance, for courses on programming.

    Digital training centres will be established based on the OpenClassrooms diploma with “Guaranteed employment” commitment, with the help of local partners, whose premises will be used as training and examination centres.

The courses are made up of series of texts, videos, and quizzes. The smartphone courses are easy to access, encourage the sharing of knowledge between students, and also user friendly and optimised for data consumption.

“The digital revolution is an exceptional opportunity for Africa, both as an accelerator for development and for new sectors of activity where it can excel. Africa needs to train hundreds of thousands of young people in digital technology in order to seize this opportunity. Our partnership with OpenClassrooms once again illustrates Orange’s support in reaching the objective” explains Bruno Mettling, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa.

“We are proud to contribute to the development of digital skills in Africa via this unique partnership with Orange. Backed by the quality of the Orange network in Africa, our educational expertise will boost development and the creation of jobs" adds Pierre Dubuc, CEO of OpenClassrooms.

After providing access in Africa to educational content via smartphone in association with the CNED (https://goo.gl/LiLXpS), the partnership illustrates a new stage in the “Orange Digital School” project targeting students, teachers, universities and schools.

The cooperation will rely on local Orange entities in Africa and the Middle East, in association with African partners such as the Virtual Universities and young African startups. Other agreements will follow with other institutions and partners in the field of education and online digital technical and professional training in French.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Orange.

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Orange press contacts: +33 1 44 44 93 93
Nathalie Chevrier; Nathalie.Chevrier@Orange.com
Tom Wright; Tom.Wright@Orange.com

OpenClassrooms press contacts: +33 6 77 23 85 98
Thomas Meister; Thomas.Meister@OpenClassrooms.com

About Orange
Orange (www.Orange.com) is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 41 billion euros in 2017 and 152,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2017, including 93,000 employees in France. Present in 29 countries, the Group has a total customer base of 273 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2017, including 211 million mobile customers and 20 million fixed broadband customers. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In March 2015, the Group presented its new strategic plan “Essentials2020” which places customer experience at the heart of its strategy with the aim of allowing them to benefit fully from the digital universe and the power of its new generation networks.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.Orange.com, www.Orange-Business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

About OpenClassrooms
OpenClassrooms (https://OpenClassrooms.com) makes education accessible for everyone, everywhere.
OpenClassrooms is the leading online education platform in Europe with a passionate community of 3 million of students around the world. Its mission is to make education accessible to all by offering more than 30 fully-accredited online diplomas, based on the skills and jobs of the future.
OpenClassrooms revolutionizes learning with a unique approach based on individualized mentoring and real-life projects. This proven method brings the most sought-after skills in the job market of the future to everyone: web and mobile development, UX design, data science, digital marketing, cybersecurity, as well as digital expertise for HR and Marketing.
The platform offers a worldwide Job Guarantee: if our students don’t find a job within 6 months of their graduation, tuition fees are fully refunded.
To ensure the highest quality, most relevant content, OpenClassrooms partners with prestigious universities, engineering schools, and leading tech companies, including Google and IBM, to create its degree programs.
https://OpenClassrooms.com

SOURCE
Orange