Data management specialist Knowledge Integration Dynamics (KID) has joined forces with Oracle South Africa to implement an internship programme that helps graduates from previously disadvantaged communities.
The course, in its third year, will see 100 graduates selected from around the country who have completed a degree or diploma in information systems, information technology, engineering or business. They then undergo software training and gain work experience at one of Oracle's 15 volunteer partners in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
"The purpose is to create jobs for unemployed graduates in the country and bring new blood to the industry," says Dan Ellappa, country manager at Oracle University. "It will also enable Oracle's partners and customers to build capacity around the skills they require for technology they have bought."
The programme started in July 2006 and lasts eight months. It focuses on five competencies: business intelligence; finance; database administration; development; and human resource management.
This is the first year that KID has participated. "We interviewed a pool of candidates and selected 11 graduates that best suited our company profile," says Chris O'Connell, COO at KID. "They were sent for five weeks of extensive training on Informatica and MicroStrategy solutions at KID and are working with senior consultants at our customers' sites, where they gain valuable experience."
Once graduates have completed the course successfully, they are employed by KID or one of their customers.
"KID is a responsible corporate citizen and this internship programme allows us to use our success to the benefit of the community," says O'Connell. "There is a huge skills shortage in South Africa, especially in the IT industry, so we have decided to help develop local skills rather than simply importing these from countries such as India. This should lead to a more productive South African workforce and will provide new skills to the market at large."
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Knowledge Integration Dynamics (KID) was formed in 1999 to address a clearly identified need in the South African corporate market for high-performance business intelligence solutions. The company has since evolved into a comprehensive and successful data management company including master data management, data profiling, data quality, data integration, data transformation/migration, business intelligence solutions and information management. The company's skills set spans multiple technologies while maintaining a focus on the business issues and deliverables, ensuring that the best technologies are deployed to support specific applications. In addition, the company provides expert consulting in strategy development, capability development and realisation programmes. For further information, visit www.kid.co.za.
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