South Africa is still facing a massive skills shortage in the ICT sector. However, there is a concerted effort by ICT companies to help the country build the capacity needed to develop a digital economy.
Oracle saw 24 Professional Development Institute (PDI) students graduate from its Graduate Leadership Programme in Johannesburg this week. The company says the qualifications will equip the students with specialised IT and leadership skills to secure employment in the country's growing ICT industry.
Stefan Diedericks, alliance and channel director at Oracle SA, says the programme focuses on PDI students who have fully or partially completed a university degree.
"The programme is spread over a period of one year and is based on a blended learning approach, combining classroom training with e-learning and structured on-the-job training and coaching with an Oracle partner. We sponsor the full cost of training for all programme participants."
According to Diedericks, the programme has delivered 63 graduates since its inception in 2014, and has 65 students already registered for the 2017 course.
Similarly, networking giant Cisco has unveiled plans to train 36 unemployed SA youths in cyber security next year. The firm partnered with NIL Learning Africa to launch a cyber security training programme, which will be based in the company's Johannesburg office. The programme will feature in-house training as well as experience within companies.
According to Cisco, the course, which is worth between R60 000 and R70 000 per student, will be fully funded by MICT-SETA. "Students will receive a monthly stipend and an internationally recognised certificate, the 'Cisco Certified CCNA Cyber Ops certification', upon completion. The certification will be valid for three years."
Itec SA operating officer Anton Badenhorst says the document management and printing group has also established an in-house technical training college that enrols current junior unskilled employees and unemployed graduates to train them accordingly, with particular focus on the printing and imaging sector.
"We teach them the theoretical side and then they practically apply the knowledge in our workshop, upskilling the guys to technician roles. We have eight interns at any given stage. The courses range between eight to 12 months to get the interns to a junior technician role in a trade. At the end of the day, the guys receive certifications and are able to empower themselves," he notes.
A 2016 survey by the Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) found there is an increasing demand for skilled labour in the ICT sector. Speaking at the time, Adrian Schofield, the JCSE's manager of Applied Research, said: "There is an immediate unsatisfied need for skills in the ICT sector that is only going to get worse in the medium- and long-term. Significant and sustained investment in education and training is required to have any hope of alleviating the skills gap."
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