In early 2022, a group of visionary leaders in Portugal saw a growing tech skills gap – and a major opportunity. They wanted to ride the wave of tech reskilling and, together with Wawiwa Tech, they made it happen.
By launching TechOf, a tech training center in Lisbon, they created a place where people from all backgrounds can reskill into high-paying tech jobs in high demand through Wawiwa’s training programs – and transform their lives.
Today, TechOf is one of Lisbon’s leading tech training centers, attracting students from across Portugal and beyond.
Read the story of how it all started – and how this partnership is shaping the future of tech education in Portugal.
A Growing Ecosystem and a Missing Piece: Portugal’s Tech Talent Gap
Portugal’s tech ecosystem has shown remarkable growth and resilience, with over 4,000 startups creating 26,000 jobs and growing by 10-20% every year. While the median salary in Portugal is €25,000/year, Software Developers earn an average of €48,000/year, 92% higher, highlighting the lucrative opportunities in tech jobs. However, a significant disconnect persists between the skills required by the tech industry and those possessed by jobseekers, with 85% of employers in Portugal struggling to find qualified talent. The tech talent gap made the partnership between Wawiwa Tech and TechOf a timely and impactful initiative, which would provide tech talent to the local industry.
TechOf and Wawiwa: A Perfect Fit for Tech Education in Portugal
Behind TechOf is a powerhouse founding team with deep roots in education, operations, and business through Portugal’s largest English language training centers. Leading the charge is Nuno Rosado, an expert in training operations and a seasoned strategist. With years of experience as a CIO, Nuno brings sharp insights into systems, sales, the student journey, and delivering impactful learning experiences.
Darren Swan, with years of experience as a CEO in the education industry, contributes extensive international expertise in strategy, marketing, sales, and franchising. Rui Cruz, VP of Operations, brings a strong background in business growth, and people development. Diogo Reis Pareira, CMO, adds insights as a marketing specialist in educational businesses, rounding out the team with robust operational and promotional know-how.
This strong local leadership made TechOf an ideal partner for Wawiwa Tech. From the start, both teams held regular strategic meetings, aligning on financial planning, center operations, and how to attract and support students. A key part of the collaboration was the onboarding process – ensuring that local staff, from academic coordinators to administrative and marketing personnel, were fully equipped and trained to deliver the Wawiwa methodology. Together, they laid the groundwork for a tech training center designed to deliver hands-on, job-ready tech programs.
Building a Strong Team, Marketing, and Sales
According to Wawiwa’s guidelines, TechOf places a strong emphasis on human resources. Wawiwa provides a job description for every position at the center and has helped TechOf interview and recruit the trainers. All trainers are experts in their respective fields with real-world industry experience in the topics that they teach, guiding students through the curriculum with hands-on experience and practical insights.
Career counseling is also of crucial importance: the consultants interview the candidates, refer them to Wawiwa’s online assessment, and then work to place them in the right training programs that are a good fit with their characteristics and passions, also using AI tools. TechOf also offers guidance to students and graduates as they transition into their new tech careers. The center helps students to identify their strengths, manage their job search process, and connect with potential employers.
Towards the launch, Diogo and the team established the TechOf website (using a “Vanilla” template that Wawiwa had provided to speed up design and development) and social channels of TechOf, and then initiated a series of paid advertising campaigns to bring traffic to the website and generate leads to the first programs.
TechOf’s Launch Event
To celebrate the launch of the center, TechOf hosted a high-profile event that attracted key figures from the local tech industry.
At the launch event, partners from both institutions gave invigorating speeches attracting business discussions with the attendees coming from various universities, tech companies, startups, and HR agencies.
Launch of Tech Training Programs
Following the launch event, TechOf started hosting Open Days, where prospective students could visit the center, meet the staff and trainers, and learn more about the programs offered.
TechOf opened doors with three Wawiwa programs: the Frontend Developer, Full-Stack Developer, and Digital Marketing Specialist programs. These programs were designed to meet the growing demand for software programmers and tech-savvy marketers in Portugal, offering students the opportunity to become job-ready in 6-9 months.
The programs were met with great enthusiasm, and within just a few months, TechOf expanded its offering with new cohorts of Wawiwa’s Data Analyst and UX/UI Designer programs—further addressing market needs and attracting even more aspiring tech professionals.
TechOf adopted a flexible hybrid learning model, allowing students to choose between attending physical classes at the center or participating in live online sessions.
By focusing on practical projects, real-world scenarios, and job-ready skills, Wawiwa’s Job-Effective-Design (JET) methodology ensures that TechOf graduates are prepared to hit the ground running as soon as they complete their training. The combination of Wawiwa’s proven methodology and TechOf’s hybrid delivery model has made it possible for a diverse range of students from all over Portugal to reskill and pursue fulfilling careers in tech.
A Tech Hub for Students from Diverse Backgrounds
One of the most exciting aspects of TechOf’s growth has been its ability to attract a diverse and dynamic student body from Portugal and abroad.
Nuno elaborated on the student composition at TechOf: “While people from Portugal make the majority of our students, we have some international students who are interested in getting a job in Portugal to improve their lives. When reskilling to tech, they actually make another lifestyle leap – from average salaries in regular jobs to the high salaries that can be attained when working in tech. I feel that reskilling to tech is really a life-changing decision.”
The Wawiwa programs taught at TechOf in Lisbon have received enthusiastic feedback from students and graduates:
- “I chose TechOf because it was the only school I found that offered SQL, Python, and Power BI tools, specifically focused on data analysis. I love analyzing data and I really wanted to learn these techniques. The practicality of the program, with a strong focus on exercises and projects, was crucial to my learning.” – Sofia Carvalho
- “I like my field of Biomedical Science but I recognized that it is stagnant and does not offer room for evolution. That’s something that goes against my personality, because I like to evolve and learn. I recommend TechOf training center – there is a lot of mutual help between teachers and students, and teachers are willing to support students even after hours and provide a level of support that you don’t see anywhere else.” – Sara Viegas
- “What led me to choose the program at TechOf was the possibility of gaining knowledge in areas that are current and relevant in the job market. During the 6-month program, I got to experience the role of a UX/UI Designer in practice. It was an extremely productive period, full of learning, but always in a relaxed atmosphere. The flexibility and support of the team were crucial to balancing the program with my work.” – Renata Almeida
Wawiwa Tech: Your Partner in Reskilling and Upskilling Your Ecosystem to Tech Careers
Wawiwa is reskilling the world to tech. Wawiwa is a global tech education provider, which bridges the tech skills gap by establishing local tech training centers and programs with partners around the world. Over the last few years, we’ve announced Wawiwa-powered partnerships across 6 continents, in Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Japan, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
We offer our local partners innovative programs that incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) modules, reskilling individuals for high-demand tech jobs, such as Full-Stack and Frontend Developers, Data Analysts and Scientists, Cybersecurity and DevOps Specialists, UX/UI and Graphic Designers, Product Managers, QA Specialists, and Online Marketers. We also provide a range of B2B upskilling tech and AI courses, designed to keep companies and their teams up to date with the latest technology trends and tools. In addition, we assist universities in integrating career-oriented tech training programs into academic degrees and continuing education.
Wawiwa utilizes a proven blended training methodology, cutting-edge content, state-of-the-art digital learning platforms, and strong industry relations, ensuring tech training programs that result in higher employability and graduate satisfaction. This cultivates a strong training brand and establishes a sustainable business for Wawiwa’s partners.
Wawiwa is actively seeking partners to establish tech training centers and programs around the world. If this might interest you or a colleague of yours, we’d be delighted to provide more information and discuss potential collaboration.
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