South African pure-play software testing company, Inspired Testing (www.InspiredTesting.com), is on a continent-wide drive to attract, develop and place Africa’s digital talent on the global stage.

The company is on a determined path to ensure that African talent plays a meaningful role in the 4th Industrial Revolution and believes that the continent’s digital-savvy talent is the answer to a worldwide software skills shortage.

Andre Barnard, Chief People and Culture Officer at Inspired Testing says, “ Our endeavour to further grow into other territories means that we’re unlocking employment opportunities for software testers from the likes of Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Zambia and from other countries on our continent.”

“We want to partner with potential employees, be they senior or intermediate automation engineers or graduates seeking to further a career in software testing.” says Barnard.

Inspired Testing describes the candidates it seeks as ideally in possession of an ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) Certification or willing to acquire this qualification within 3 months, coupled with a readiness to grow and engage and someone who wants to take control of their progression in software testing.

The company aligns a career map for each employee and is committed to advancing them from a “start” to a “vision” position in their career.

Barnard says that the company’s employees and its leadership are known for possessing a “mentality of abundance”.

He describes this notion as, “Being intentional in always giving away our best.”

“Our purpose is to make way for potential, “says Barnard when asked what Inspired Testing had to offer persons seeking employment at the organisation.

He went on to explain that truly making way for potential has to go beyond just paying a market-related remuneration.

Noting  ”It comprises access to leadership, a functional mentorship programme, the opportunity to upskill and self-develop, with funding assistance from the company, and global work exposure to multinational companies of varying sizes.”

Inspired Testing’s global clients span across Legal, Banking, Financial Services, Telecommunications, e-Commerce and Retail sectors, to name a few.

Barnard points out that the business verticals that they currently service have grown exponentially during the Covid-19 pandemic and the strategic migration and deeper advancement to digital-first platforms and operations have indeed created quite an upsurge in the software industry, thereby creating the need for more resources in software testing as a discipline.

Inspired Testing also runs The Inspired Academy, that tailor makes programmes and curriculums designed specifically for the upskilling of clients’ software testing teams and individuals who wants to advance their career.

The academy, borne from the organisation's desire to positively impact both society and the industry sector they operate in, has seen many successfully completed training courses in the six months passed.

The programmes run here directly contribute to ramping up software testing skills sets and often leads to career progression for the incumbents.