MICROmega subsidiary Sebata has established a skills development academy to create skills in the information technology sector.
The skills development academy comprising an internship programme, a skills programme, formal, accredited academic training and a learnership programme, is a 12-month programme which officially started on 1 April 2014 and is currently skilling 104 students.
"We are excited about this programme as it is giving us an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to sustainable skills development in SA," says Velazi Zaca, training manager at Sebata. "Skilled employees are required at local government level to ensure communities receive necessary services and Sebata believes its skills development programmes contribute significantly to service delivery. The organisation has targeted smaller rural communities in order to facilitate the much-needed employment opportunities for unemployed youth."
According to Zaca, R5 512 000 has been invested in year-long learnerships and Sebata would like to extend the programme, but that is dependent on the availability of funding.
Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education Training Authority (MICT SETA) is funding the internship programme, learnership programme and co-funding the skills programme with Sebata.
Jabu Sibeko, senior manager for Learning Programmes at MICT SETA, says MICT SETA participates in learning programmes that lead to employment and new venture creation whilst at the same time engaging in programmes that assist in bridging the digital divide especially in rural areas.
Zaca notes that Sebata approached the Elundini Municipality and the Gariep Municipality - two of its municipal clients that are located in rural areas in the Eastern Cape - and recruit 104 learners that live within these districts. "We targeted learners that had completed their matric but were unable to study further and could not find a job. The municipalities provided four training sites and each training site was equipped with computers and could accommodate 26 learners," adds Zaca.
Zaca explains the learnership programme is based on a full qualification called Certificate: Information Systems End User Computing. The qualification is accredited by the MICT SETA at NQF Level 3. There is a theory learning component which is expected to take four months and an experiential learning component which is expected to take eight months, where learners will spend eight months applying these skills within the various departments of the Gariep and Elundini Municipalities.
"This gives learners a recognised, balanced qualification and an opportunity gain work experience." says Zaca.
According to Zaca, the programme is more than halfway through the theory learning component which is proving to be successful, however, the challenges faced thus include learners who generally struggle to learn in English as most of them do not communicate in the language at home or in their communities. He notes that in nabbing this problem facilitators who deploy various remedial tools to close the learning gaps have been put in place.
The Skills Development Academy also has a year-long internship programme that is designed to give valuable work experience to 12 interns with different types of formal education. The interns have been placed across different divisions in Sebata where they will acquire the experience and skills that are needed to secure a job - with the most promising candidates receiving full-time positions at Sebata.
Another initiative is a six-month SETA accredited skills programme that is focused on 54 internal staff members that work within various divisions of Sebata.
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