Western Cape-based tech talent programme, CapaCiTi, will train 1 000 students in technology skills over the next three years. This is the word from Alethea Hagemann, head of the CapaCiTi programme, who says the company has big plans for the near future.
"In 2015 alone we had 220 individuals come through the programme, which is nearly double that of our 2014 group. The potential to scale up is extremely positive.
"We aim to train at least another 1 000 students in tech skills over the next three years through the innovative use of online programs," says Hagemann.
Launched in 2011, CapaCiTi recruits unemployed youth and reskills them with marketable technology skills - including business analysis, software development and IT networking skills. The programme aims to equip youth with job readiness training, and help find them internships or full-time jobs in top tech companies in the Western Cape.
CapaCiTi has partnered with the University of Cape Town, University of the Western Cape, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and other institutions to develop bespoke programmes rooted in industry-input, industry-demand and industry-standards.
To date, the programme has matched more than 500 graduates to top tech positions. Ninety-eight percent of all graduates between 2011 and 2015 are still employed at over 150 South African companies, says Hagemann.
Commenting on the importance of skills development for South African youth, Najwah Allie-Edries, head of the Jobs Fund, says skills programmes need to result in jobs, and training alone is not enough.
"The work that CapaCiTi does is enormously important. It provides a vital bridge and link between unemployed youth and the world of work...there's a huge demand for ICT skills, but young people don't know how to access that," says Allie-Edries.
"Access to education has improved, but employment hasn't. Through the work CapaCiTi does in identifying young people, putting them through structured programmes and understanding what employer needs are, we can ensure that those young people meet those needs," she adds.
Debbie Sch"afer, Western Cape Education Department (WCED) MEC, adds: "We are very excited about CapaCiTi's initiative in ensuring that they up-skill ICT learners and enable them to find and secure employment.
"Ensuring that our young people are digitally literate in this day and age is vitally important for when they leave school and graduate from a relevant course. Skills like these give them something with which to contribute to the economy, and a sense of pride in their own abilities."
The WCED has identified ICT skills and e-learning as game-changers for South African education, and is placing a huge emphasis on rolling out infrastructure and technology over the next two years.
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