The results of the Mobile Training and Support Needs survey were presented last night at Mobile Monday Joburg. mLab Southern Africa (SA), along with Mobile Monday Joburg, ran the short survey to understand the training and general support needs of mobile developers and entrepreneurs in South Africa. Critical to the success of the mLab SA’s work is to ensure that we support real needs from those in the mobile community.  77 people responded.

There is a clear need to provide support on how to monetise mobile apps and content. In response, the mLab SA has created an Application Monetisation and Commercialisation resources section on its website, as well as lined up two events in August (Pretoria and Cape Town) on Monetising Your Mobile App or Content, presented with InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. Book your place at the events now.

View the presentation of the survey results (Slideshare)

Highlights of the survey:

Province?
Most respondents were from Gauteng and the Western Cape.

In which type of organisation do you work?
Most respondents work for a Small business (less than 8 employees), NGO/NPO, or Medium size business.

How would you best describe your place in the mobile world?
Most respondents were in the Business/entrepreneur camp, followed by those in the Techie/mobile developer camp.

What mobile tech training would you like?
The biggest demand was for Mobile web applications with HTML5, followed by Programming for Android and Java/J2ME.

For business related training, on which topics would you like training?
The top three options were What kind of business model is best for your mobile app or content service, Mobile analytics and tracking, and How to commercialise your mobile app or content service.

What level of training would you like?
Beginners/Introduction was the clear winner.

How long is your optimal course?
While many respondents said that it depended on the course itself, the single biggest preference was for Full day training.

When would you prefer to attend training?
Weekdays, and Evenings during the week.

In what format and place would you like to receive training?
The first preference was for a Blended approach of face-to-face and online, followed by a Traditional face-to-face approach only.

What other support would you like?
All of the options received a high demand, with the top three being Access to market research and business intelligence, Matchmaking with developers, and Business mentoring.

What kinds of events are most important to you?
General networking with others in this space was the favourite, followed by Announcement of market trends and research (business intelligence).