Digital Academy’s first students achieve 91% pass rate in Python exams

The first intake of Digital Skills Academy students were presented with Python Institute Certifications, achieving a 91% pass rate in their exams.

They were presented with their certificates by Albert Isola, the Minister for Digital and Financial Services.

“I was thrilled to present the certifications to the 10 successful students,” Mr Isola said.

“I am committed to continue to grow and widen skills available in Gibraltar in particular to support the burgeoning technology sector where we are showing leadership in a number of innovative areas.”

“The future will no doubt see greater reliance on technology and our community should be in a position to harness the many opportunities that will be available.”

The Gibraltar Digital Skills Academy opened its doors last September and since then has worked in a very focused way to partner with a number of international certification bodies such as CompTIA and the Python Institute, a spokesman for the Gibraltar Digital Skills Academy said.

“The certification process provides students with skills targeted at supporting their entry into employment and gives testimony to Gibraltar’s ambitions to closing the skills gap in the technology sector,” the spokesman added.

The Python Institute is an independent non-profit project set up by the Open Education and Development Group (OpenEDG) to promote the Python programming language, train a new generation of Python programmers, and support professional careers in programming in Python and related technologies.

In line with the strategic goals associated with the enhancement and development of careers in Python programming, OpenEDG Python Institute provides an independent global framework for Python programming high-stakes examinations.

Founding Trustee of the Gibraltar Digital Skills Academy Stewart Harrison said this was a “very proud moment” for the Academy.

“Certification makes our students more employable and able to demonstrate the skills they possess,” Mr Harrison said.

“The exams are challenging and require significant commitment from both our students and instructors all of whom have done an amazing job.”

“I would like to place on record my particular thanks to Ritika Melwani for her hard work and dedication; this is her first year as an instructor and she has helped students achieve a pass rate of 91%.”

“This is the first step in becoming a centre of excellence for digital skills, partnering with the public and private sector who play a huge part in steering the curriculum we offer to ensure the skills we teach and develop, are relevant to the job market.”

“Our curriculum develops programming skills from key stage 2 up to key stage 5, preparing them for final certifications such as these.”

“Apart from making students more employable, such certifications will support students with future University applications as they are able to show they have achieved industry standard.”