DOC targets ICT jobs

The Department of Communications (DOC), together with the ICT sector, will facilitate the creation of over 150 000 direct and indirect jobs by 2020.

Minister Roy Padayachie said during his budget speech this morning that industry figures for the contribution to job creation will be consolidated by the end of this calendar year.

“An industry-wide committee will be established to identify opportunities using a collective database to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation.”

He added that jobs will be created across various sub-sectors of the industry, through the provision of broadband infrastructure; establishment of content hubs for radio and TV; animation; e-cooperatives; uptake and usage of ICT in FET colleges; tailor-made solutions for SMMEs; digital broadcasting; distribution of set-top boxes; and the rollout of the PostBank.

The department will leverage the National Job Fund announced by president Jacob Zuma in his state of the nation address.

“We will also engage the development finance institutions to increase their support for ICT businesses and innovations, especially those ventures that are driven by SMMEs in rural areas.”

Padayachie also said the DOC is finalising the ICT rural development strategy to determine priority under-serviced areas and accelerate the provision of universal service and access through integrated government interventions.

“Given the strategic role of ICTs as enablers of growth and development, work is under way to identify tactical interventions to unleash this potential.”

The department's interventions will combine with work being done by industry. The role of the department and state entities will be to address identified market failures, particularly in the provision of universal service and access.

“ICT skills and the capacity to use new technologies remain a prerequisite for effective participation of citizens in the information society and knowledge-based economy,” said the minister.

He added that the use of new electronic communications services will create opportunities for employment and wealth creation.

“We remain challenged by an alarming skills deficit across society. To address the e-skills deficit, the department is currently incubating the e-Skills Institute, which will act as a clearing house for e-skills initiatives in the country, in partnership with other stakeholders, including universities.”

The department's medium-term plan is to establish a standalone e-Skills Institute (e-SI).

It has established five Provincial e-Skills Knowledge Production Hubs at partnering universities, which will better coordinate and invigorate all e-skill-related activities; and a National e-Skills Research Network to ensure the e-skills interventions are based on sound evaluative principles.

“The e-SI shall, through the roll-out of its programmes, deliver e-skilled practitioners, users and information society knowledge workers.”

The minister said the overwhelming participation in the recent local government elections was made possible by the unprecedented use of electronic communications services.

In the build up to the elections, millions of voters checked their registration details using mobile phones, and millions of messages were distributed over electronic communications networks, according to Padayachie.

“Many compatriots, including political parties, accessed social media such as Facebook and Twitter via mobile phones, laptops, smartphones, intelligent pads and other technology innovations, expressing their views about the elections.

“The use of these technologies demonstrated our growth and development in the realm of e-democracy and e-participation.”

These technological changes and advances are placing an increasing pressure on traditional forms of communication worldwide, especially postal services, said the minister.

A figure of R180 million has been allocated for the Post Office's distribution network to be expanded to ensure the inclusion of rural communities into the mainstream of the country's activities and economy.