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Cisco bets Internet of everything will lessen unemployment

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 19 May 2016
Cisco offers a free Internet of everything online training course.
Cisco offers a free Internet of everything online training course.

Technology company Cisco will introduce in-depth modules of its first Internet of everything (IOE) free online training course in the fourth quarter of this year.

As a new addition to Cisco's Networking Academy, the online IOE training course aims to address the ICT skills deficit in SA and equip students with specific ICT skills.

Course material includes discussions on the Internet and its evolution, and the interconnection of people, processes, data and things that forms the IOE, giving students the opportunity to upskill their knowledge.

It is undeniable IOE will be inextricably intertwined with business success in the future, as more objects, machines and people become part of the network, according to Alfie Hamid, regional manager for corporate affairs at Cisco Systems.

"Providing young South Africans with ICT training courses that are immediately relevant and that anticipate where the Internet is headed, will prove invaluable to addressing our country's skills shortage and ensuring we can fully benefit from and be prepared for the next step in the ICT revolution," Hamid explains.

Specialised skills

Cisco predicts 50 billion things will be connected to the Web by 2020. This in turn will lead to $1.9 trillion of economic value-add in 2020 and $12 trillion cumulatively between 2013 and 2022.

IOE is the catalyst to the change we are seeing now in the fourth industrial revolution, says Hamid. "This change demands new skills sets within industry and the workplace, be it manufacturing, agriculture and construction, or home industries. It demands skill sets that range from having knowledge of IOE to an in-depth knowledge of IOE."

With this in mind, Cisco noticed there is a massive need to look at re-skilling unemployed youth to match the demand from growth sectors.

However, there isn't any structured course material on the introduction to IOE or an in-depth study of IOE, especially in SA.

"We took it upon ourselves to develop the free courseware, that's available to all and thereby ensure a level playing field between the privileged and underprivileged sectors of society," Hamid says.

"The launch of an easily accessible IOE training course combined with the Cisco Networking Academy portfolio of courses, will meet the re-skilling and up-skilling demand of the growth sectors."

Although Cisco's IOE course mainly targets SA's unemployed, it is also accessible to school children in grades nine, 10 and 11, FET college students and first year university students.

Interested parties can access the online course by joining their nearest Cisco Academy or gain access by clicking here.

New age workforce

SA's economy has slowed down in recent years and this has had a negative impact on the country's unemployment rate.

According to Statistics SA (Stats SA), the unemployment rate in SA increased to 26.7% in the three months to March 2016 from 24.5% in the previous quarter.

This is the highest reading since September 2005, as the number of unemployed rose by 10% whereas employment fell 2.2%, reveals data from Stats SA.

However, with an estimated 99.4% of physical objects that may one day be part of the IOE still unconnected, businesses can leverage the economic opportunity presented by IOE, says Hamid.

He explains: "In the IOE economy, new jobs will be created to realise the potential of connecting people, processes, data and things. From agriculture to manufacturing, computer science to engineering, to information science to management, understanding IOE will be an advantage for job-seekers at all levels."

IOE will change the playing field beyond recognition, he says. "Cyber security analysts, for instance, will be one of the biggest growth roles, with an estimated one million new specialists needed over the next few years in this area alone. The business world is going to be looking for people who can take all this information from these things and do something new with it."

There has not been a more opportune time - or a greater need - for everyone to advance their knowledge of networks and technology to join the IOE movement, and have a successful career, whatever your industry, concludes Hamid.

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