Johannesburg, 11 Nov 2015
T-Systems South Africa has announced it was the recipient of double honours at the CompTIA Awards Ceremony, held on 14 October 2015 at Montecasino in Johannesburg. The company was lauded for its rural and urban ICT Academy skills development programmes, receiving the "Largest Academic Partner - Africa 2015" award for the T-Systems ICT Academy, as well as the "Most Growth - Small/ Medium Academic Partner 2015" for its Hazyview Digital Learning Centre (HDLC) project.
"T-Systems is fully committed to sustainable transformation in South Africa, and we invest significant time and funding into our educational programmes. It is therefore gratifying to be recognised for the work we do from an international body as prestigious as CompTIA," said Adr'e du Plessis, Vice-President Strategy and Transformation at T-Systems.
CompTIA is a non-profit organisation that aims to advance the global interests of IT professionals and IT channel organisations. The goal is to enable them to be more successful with industry-leading IT certifications and IT business credentials, IT education and resources. In addition, CompTIA assists with networking between like-minded, leading IT industry experts.
"Education is a critical component of achieving the organisation's goals." Said CEO of CompTIA International Todd Thibodeaux at the event: "Employers are starting to rank IT certifications above college degrees. We need to do more to educate kids about the opportunities around infrastructure jobs in IT."
This focus aligns with T-Systems' goal of nation-building through sustainable initiatives. T-Systems has a longstanding relationship with CompTIA, with both organisations acting as founding members of the ICT Academy in 2003. Students at the ICT Academy are trained in two of CompTIA's certifications during their first year, namely: A+, which addresses technical understanding of ICT as well as communication skills and professionalism; and N+, which specifically addresses networking skills. Students also write the corresponding exams, providing them with relevant internationally recognised qualifications that help to effectively address the skills gap.
"In order to win the Largest Academic Partner - Africa 2015 award, T-Systems was required to demonstrate outstanding overall performance. This was measured by the number of exams delivered, the pass rate achieved, growth of the institution year on year, as well as consistency and best practice," Adr'e du Plessis explains.
In 2014, the T-Systems ICT Academy achieved a 100% pass rate, with a total of 121 students being certified. Of this number, 106 students completed the first-year course and 25 finished their second year of specialisation. Since its inception, 1 824 graduates were enabled with internationally recognised ICT qualifications, with an average pass rate of 95%. Furthermore, the Academy boasts an overall employment rate of 85% for students who complete both years of the course.
"The award for most growth - Small/ Medium Academic Partner 2015, was awarded to the Hazyview Digital Learning Centre, based on exponential growth, as well as their achievement as the largest partner-led business development with the highest growth performance and engagement," says Du Plessis.
T-Systems has been dedicated to the growth of the HDLC since its official launch in 2012. This initiative represents a multimillion-rand investment into sustainable enterprise development, providing critical skills such as IT, tourism and conservation to the community of Hazyview and the surrounding rural areas in the Mpumalanga province. During 2013, many people directly benefited from this investment, including 317 adults in the ICT and hospitality academies, 97 teachers in three schools who received training in the digital space, and 4 200 school learners in six schools influenced and impacted by the digital learning centres.
"These awards demonstrate the relevance of our approach toward skills development and addressing gaps in education and employment. Our goal of nation-building focuses on skills development within both rural and urban communities, and on creating employment by ensuring people are able to obtain relevant skills. With the qualifications that are obtained at both of these institutions, we are enabling our youth to be employed and contribute efficiently in a sustainable and competitive South African economy. Congratulations to the teams from both T-Systems ICT Academy and HDLC. Thank you for playing your part in building our digital nation," Du Plessis concludes.
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