Microsoft drives IT training

By Staff Writer for Microsoft

Johannesburg, 26 Nov 2008

Microsoft has signed an agreement with the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) to deploy IT facilities for poor communities, as well as upgrade existing facilities.

This comes after Microsoft announced plans to roll out its Secondary PC programme in the country, which will see its partners refurbish old PCs and then resell them at affordable prices.

Microsoft and USAASA have worked together for the past year and have established 150 community access centres throughout the country. During this phase of the partnership, they will establish computer refurbishment centres and expand existing facilities.

The initiative will train residents to refurbish computers and, in turn, resell these to their communities at low cost to create job opportunities. In addition, the partnership will train computer literacy trainers and assist computer access centres to become accredited computer literacy training providers.

Phineas Moleele, acting USAASA chief executive, says an important element of the community access centres would be to allow people to access the latest computer technologies and receive higher levels of professional ICT training, making them more employable.

USAASA chairperson Cassandra Gabriel says: “The majority of South Africans do not have the skills to use computers or access the Internet. They do not know how these technologies will improve their lives. The younger generations understand they have to be computer literate to be employable, but they cannot afford the training. USAASA's partnership with Microsoft will help to ensure we use the most modern and effective learning tools to help South Africans learn the 21st century skills [that are] critical for sustainable growth.”

Developing skills

The agreement will see Microsoft SA provide free software in local languages to the access centres, for three years. Microsoft says it will also make its IT Academy programme available, offering internationally-accredited qualifications. Graduates of the programme will have access to workplace experience through Microsoft's Student2Business initiative.

Microsoft SA's citizenship head, Vis Naidoo, says the centres hope to develop ICT skills in SA.

“As the digital divide closes, we have to ensure the technology is relevant to the community it serves. Technologies and services that work well in the developed world may not always be appropriate for the developing world. We are focused on offering computer access to more people, and ensuring relevance and affordability by offering software and services in local languages.”

Naidoo says the centres are improving access to information and technology in SA. “We are now taking our existing centres to the next level by making them more usable, sustainable and offering more services. We believe in the value that technology brings to skills development.

“The centres are based in key development nodes identified by the government and areas which have access to electricity and telecommunications infrastructure. We are encouraging groups in these targeted communities to take ownership of the facilities. Community members will learn digital literacy and will receive training at different levels.”

Earlier this week, the North West University's Centre for Text Technology updated its Afrikaans SkryfGoed program for Afrikaans computer users. The spelling checker for Microsoft Office recognises 430 000 Afrikaans words.