Among the most sought-after professions, mobile application designer has become a must. In France, Apple and Simplon, a specialist in preparation for digital technical professions, have launched training open to all without the obligation of a diploma to learn how to create an app from A to Z on the iPhone. An interesting first step into the digital world.
And it is in the premises of Montreuil, Marseille, Lille, Lyon and Toulouse that we find this training, open to all and which takes place over four weeks. An express trip to the land of developers, but which allows you to learn with professionals, headed by the famous apple brand.
CNEWS visited the premises of Simplon in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) to learn more about this type of professional training.
They do not have the baccalaureate or already have certain diplomas, are in retraining or come on the recommendation of Pôle Emploi… The learners of the iOS mobile developer training linked to the Apple Foundation Program come from different backgrounds and, for many, this approach constitutes a first contact with this universe.
Very varied profiles
Up to 25 learners can integrate these four weeks of intensive workshops, while seven sessions are organized each year in each of the five cities that offer it. “The idea here is mainly to create vocations, we don’t require programming knowledge. The only conditions are to be at least 18 years old, to have learned about the training and to be motivated by this type of job. We generally have 60% young people, but also 40% people in retraining”, summarizes Julie Quatrehomme, national project manager Apple Foundation Program.
From the first days, those present form groups of five and first decide on the theme on which their application project will focus (culture, health, travel, environment, etc.) and define a problem to which the application will have to to respond. The second week is devoted to learning to code with the Switft language offered by Apple. The third week is about putting it into practice by launching the creation of the mobile app project. Finally, the last week must concretize the project before its presentation in front of a jury of professionals.
“The idea of working in a group allows us to discover different visions within the same project. We complement each other, we help each other, but no one imposes a method”, explains Elliot Knight, 23, who arrived in this training without a specific diploma, but with an attraction for algorithms. Self-taught on this subject, Caroline Wu, 29, is currently in professional retraining. This former saleswoman highlights “the immersion offered by this training, even if she advises to revise certain basics well and to have some notions around the computer language Swift” put forward by Apple.
“A lot of applicants arrive asking themselves ‘is this for me?’ In reality, we receive learners from all walks of life and there are many who don’t know how to code. Above all, we help to push the reflection within a project: who is targeted? what design to adopt?… To always ask the right questions”, explains Mickaël Mas, trainer on this program which invites the curious to study the online books made available free of charge by Apple on Swift programming.
“Today the profession of developer is one of the professions in tension where there is a constant need for manpower. And the French are very active there, there are also many of them in Silicon Valley in the United States, underlines Frédéric Bardeau, president and co-founder of Simplon. However, to avoid always finding the same profiles in these professions, it is important to think about their diversification, women and men from bac -3 to bac +3 are welcome there ”.
In parallel with this four-week training, Simplon and Apple even offer learners to go further with the “extended program”, in order to deepen this teaching. Finally, from next September the advanced Apple foundation program will offer three months of intensive training before sending its students on a work-study program for eighteen months, offering, at the end of this course, a diploma course at bac +3 level.
Registration for the Apple Foundation Program is open on the Simplon website.