Google, in partnership with online education company Pluralsight and software start-up Andela, is calling on aspiring Android developers to apply for the 2019 Google Africa Certifications Scholarships.

No deadline has been specified, but Pluralsight urges interested candidates to "hurry up and apply" as acceptance into this programme is limited.

As part of its global skills development initiative, Grow with Google, the tech giant has committed to sponsor 30 000 developers in Africa to receive free education from Pluralsight, supported by the Andela Learning Community.

Of the 30 000 scholarship recipients, 10 000 will receive further scholarships for a more intensive curriculum, along with access to projects and the Andela Learning Community.

Who qualifies

The scholarship curriculum, designed to prepare learners for entry-level and intermediate roles as software developers, is only available to applicants from across Africa.

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and training takes place 100% online.

Three available programmes

Participants will choose one of three Google certifications: Associate Android, Mobile Web and Associate Cloud Engineer.

The time frame for the completion of the courses varies.

The Associate Android Developer course is a performance-based course focused on demonstrating competency and skill in the tasks Android developers most frequently perform. This path will help participants prepare for the Associate Android Developer Certification exam and provide them with a foundation in the skills necessary to work effectively as an Android developer.

The Mobile Web course equips participants with mobile Web skills by earning a Mobile Web Specialist Certification. Earning this certification will be a definitive step in starting a career as a mobile Web developer.

The Associate Cloud Engineer course helps participants with relevant skills to deploy applications, monitor operations and manage enterprise solutions. The participant will be able to use Google Cloud Console and the command-line interface to perform common platform-based tasks to maintain one or more deployed solutions that leverage Google-managed or self-managed services on Google Cloud.

Interested prospective students can apply here.

How to apply

(These screen shots are shown for illustrative purposes only.)

Prior to enrolling for any one of the courses, participants are required to register and then log in to Pluralsight:

Upon completion of the registration process, participants are required to complete the on-boarding survey about their personal details and goals:

Participants are then required to take a skill IQ assessment to determine their knowledge level (beginner, intermediate or advanced).

In the final step, participants complete one or more hours of their chosen Pluralsight course.

Tip: If you have a Windows or MacOS device, download the offline app so you can download courses for viewing later.

If you need help, please e-mail Pluralsight support@pluralsight.com for 24/7 assistance.