Shared ambitions
Within PwC’s ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategy lives our ambition to challenge the digital divide; to contribute to reducing the rising digital gap in the communities around us. Which is why when we heard about MolenGeek and the unique contribution it's making to achieve the same aim, we knew we wanted to be part of it. We believe that Belgium has the potential to become the 'talent haven' of Europe and firms like ours and initiatives like MolenGeek can make a truly impactful contribution toward that ambition.
Opening a world of opportunity
MolenGeek is the brainchild of Ibrahim Ouassari who dropped out of school aged 13 because, like many children, the traditional learning environment wasn’t engaging him in a way that would help him learn. By chance, he discovered the abundance of online learning materials available and used them to teach himself about IT, technology and how to code. “It opened up a world of opportunity, possibility, perspective and challenge,” he enthuses.
Failing to learn
Looking around his home town of Molenbeek, one of Brussels’ less affluent areas, Ibrahim realised that his lack of connection with the classic schooling system was far from unique. That’s how - and why - MolenGeek was born. It offers not just training on digital skills, but events and an incubator too to encourage entrepreneurship, where people with a budding business idea can come and gain support to make it grow.
Committed to their future
MolenGeek wants to make sure that people with the ambition to learn more about technology, no matter their educational background, have the opportunity to do so. “Our aim’s to remove the barriers to access. At time of writing, MolenGeek has equipped more than 2,000 people with new digital skills, 85% of them have been reintroduced to the labour market, launched a start-up in a digital field or moved on to advanced education in a digital field.
"Our aim's to remove the barriers to access."
Making schools fit for the future
MolenGeek also partners with schools to try to make sure that they’re preparing children for the world of today and tomorrow. Ibrahim Ouassari says, “While the mandate of schools is to prepare children for the world and workplace, many are failing to prepare them for the world of today and the current labour market, let alone that of the future. How many schools do you know that teach basic coding, data or analytics,” he asks. He believes, “Schools need to adapt to engage children in learning, teachers should inspire students to rise to the top, not just give them skills, then they’ll most likely see fewer dropping out.”
A growing concern
That’s just one of MolenGeek's ambitions. Another’s to continue along its already impressive growth path. Since its inception in 2015, it’s developed several different types of services, including entrepreneurial events, training and a business incubator. It’s also launched similar projects in other less well-off areas, including Charleroi and Antwerp. A new outpost will open in Laeken soon. And it’s not only growing at home, but internationally too, with ecosystems already in place in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, in the Netherlands, and Padua in Italy.
Bringing our expertise to bear
Via a structural partnership, PwC’s supporting that growth. We’re helping MolenGeek with an assessment of its governance model and current financial plan, providing legal and fiscal advice and checking that MolenGeek’s online platform, MoLearning, is performant in a secure way. More than simply an elearning tool, MoLearning incorporates gamification and resources to support young people throughout their academic life.
“We’re proud that our collaboration will help give MolenGeek an extra push to facilitate entrepreneurship and in turn empower a new diverse digital workforce - one equipped to face the challenges of today and the future.”
One + one = three
The MolenGeek/PwC partnership’s very much a two-way street with the tech ecosystem encouraging PwC to look at talent through a different, more diverse lens and become a true reflection of society. It's also helping us prepare our clients, as well as our own people, for the future by gaining a mutual understanding of the skills that’ll be needed, and adapt training offerings to fit. MolenGeek will also help PwC take meaningful steps to make sure diversity becomes fully embedded throughout our entire organisation.
Attracting digital talent
And we’ve already had the opportunity to welcome a MolenGeek alumnus to PwC. During the COVID-19 pandemic, and understanding the needs of the evolving labour market, Camille Marcq decided to learn more about the world of IT and began to discover coding via online resources. Having heard about MolenGeek from a friend, she applied for a training course and hasn’t looked back. “I took a six-month programme to learn full-stack development. What I loved was the enthusiasm I found there. I felt that the team was really committed to helping me, sharing their knowledge. That’s really what the whole IT world is about. Finding new stuff and sharing it with others. You can go there with an idea and MolenGeek will help you develop it.
Attracting tomorrow’s talent today
I find the same sort of environment in my team at PwC.” Camille Marcq now works with PwC as a Salesforce expert in our Technology Consulting team. “I like that PwC looks beyond my classical education and at the skills I bring. I hadn’t worked with Salesforce before, but had the capabilities to be able to pick everything I need to know up quickly, thanks to my training at MolenGeek and the support I have here,” she ends.
* Information correct at time of publication - April 2022
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