• Overview:

 
MENA Alliances has recently concluded the second phase “Fundamentals” of its Coding Training Program in collaboration with Code Your Future from the UK over four consecutive weeks. 
 
During this stage, our students get a gentle introduction to what programming is, why they want to learn and how to start learning. 
 
In light of this, we held various types of training meetings that can bring our students the benefits that they need to compete and stay strong in the labor market. This includes different parts, like technical sessions, mentorship, personal development (PD) sessions, English classes, study groups, and “Ya3ni Talk” conversations.
 
 

• Technical Training:

 
Our students are taught the basics of JavaScript and other programming languages by experienced developers in tech along with extra online study resources. They are also provided with various software and online easily accessible tools such as “Khan Academy” and “Code. Org” to help them practice, apply their studies and equip them with self-learning skills. 
 
Moreover, in an attempt to lighten up the mood during the meeting, we conclude with a test that measures the students’ understanding of the studied materials using the “Kahoot” gaming site. And to communicate professionally, the students and trainers use “Slack” to stay connected & informed of the latest updates.
 
At the end of this stage, only the committed, collaborative and hard-working students graduate this phase and move to the next level, which is a “Full-Stack Web Development” course.
Outcome: 33 students successfully passed the second phase.
 

 
 
 
 

• Personal Development Training:

 
Our Coding Training Program was not originally planned to only teach our students programming and improve their technical skills. It rather aims to fully prepare our students to become a professional group of developers who are ready to enter the tech industry confidently and adapt to the local and global markets’ requirements.
 
Therefore, we held Personal Development meetings with experts of developments in the HR field to improve the students’ soft skills in terms of communication, time management, teamwork, problem-solving, etc to make them match the market’s needs better. We also hosted experts from international tech leader companies like Capgemini, French multinational corporation that provides consulting, technology, professional, and outsourcing services, that joins part of our training to deliver training session about “effective communication in the tech market” to our students. Through these sessions, we want to help the students build solid understanding about the skills needed in the tech market and build up their self-esteem and confidence.
 
“Besides learning some basic soft skills, this kind of meeting is a space for me to express my concerns and to share the details of how my study week went,” student Randa says.

 
 
 

• Mentorship:

 
More than 8 mentoring sessions were held under the supervision of specialists and leaders of worldwide known companies in the field of technology.
 
These meetings aim to provide the students with regular feedback on their improvement and pieces of advice to enhance their progress, and to encourage them to move forward to their future dream jobs. They were held weekly using English in a way to boost the students’ language skills. Emphasis was also placed on the importance of creating their own career identity such as a professional LinkedIn profile.

Our student Ibraheem says, “I learned how to overcome the struggles I might face at work in the future.”
 
 

• Study Groups:

 
Creating a collaborative community in which all members get to support and learn from each other is one of the primary goals in our Coding Training Program. Consequently, we were keen to run regular online study groups for the students to strengthen their relationships and foster collaboration and teamwork among them. 
 
One of our diligent students, Rama, describes how she liked these meetings “I made new friends and we talked about our goals and interests and supported one another to keep going forward. Everything was very exciting!”
 

While they were gathering to study and do their homework together, they consciously or unconsciously helped and depended on each other to solve problems. This way, we aim to build a generation of developers who are not only technically qualified, but also collaborative team players.
 
 
 

• Ya3ni Talk:

 
Youth in Palestine are isolated from the rest of the world, because of a lot of restrictions that deprive them of getting the experience and expanding their horizons. Therefore, we established “Ya3ni Talk” as a safe space for young generations to communicate with the world and to learn how to improve themselves both professionally and personally. 
 
Through Ya3ni Talk sessions, we connect our students with local and international experts and business leaders to let them experience open discussions about various topics with great-minded speakers. To help our students in improving their discussion skills, we include the students in breakout sessions in which they directly speak with senior developers, tech experts, and business owners. From this, we intend to build professional developers who are confident to have profitable conversations with their future clients, managers, and colleagues.
 
 

About Us:

 
MENA Alliances is a nearshoring company – for-profit with a social mission- that aims to provide a high-quality remote workforce on-demand. It desires to solve the problem of a local talent shortage for automation while creating economic opportunities for women and young people in the MENA region. Our teams can scale in a short time and handle small to large projects.
We are on a mission to alleviate poverty and injustice in the MENA region by creating jobs for women and young people in this region. So far, we have trained more than 3000 women and young people and created 700+ job opportunities for disadvantaged people by connecting them with jobs from Europe, the USA (such as Silicon Valley), and the Gulf region. 
 
Code Your Future (CYF) is a non-profit institution in the United Kingdom that trains refugees and other disadvantaged groups to become web developers to help them find jobs in the field of technology.
 

To communicate with us: 

Abeer Abu Gaith ( The founder and the CEO ):

[email protected] 

Noor Abu Gaith ( Project coordinator ):

[email protected]