A three-day Microsoft skills development programme aimed at strengthening the digital capabilities of Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) IT workers has been hailed as a resounding success.
Held at the Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg, the training brought together 20 specialists, including analyst developers and web application developers, who gained practical exposure to Microsoft Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages and Dataverse.
The COGTA Power Apps Skills Transfer Programme, which ran from Tuesday to Thursday, was delivered through a collaboration between Microsoft and NKUSI-IT Siyasebenza.
The initiative was designed to strengthen internal departmental capability through structured knowledge transfer, practical training and hands-on co-development.
Commenting on the sidelines of the event, Nkululeko Silimela, Founding Director and CEO of NKUSI-IT Siyasebenza, said the programme demonstrated the value of collaboration between the public sector, technology companies and implementation partners.
“This initiative has shown what is possible when Microsoft, partners and government work together to build lasting digital skills and capability across the public sector.”
Silimela said one of the highlights of the programme was the enthusiasm and commitment shown by the provincial developers.
“What impressed us most was the level of participation and curiosity demonstrated by the provincial developers. Colleagues showed genuine interest, enthusiasm, and commitment throughout the sessions,” said Silimela.
The strong turnout and level of engagement, he said, pointed to a broader appetite for digital upskilling among Eastern Cape public servants.
Silimela believes there is now an opportunity to build on the momentum by establishing a structured, province-wide skills development and technology adoption framework centred on three key transformation pillars: artificial intelligence and Microsoft Copilot; cyber security and digital resilience; and Azure, cloud infrastructure and modern platforms.
The collaborative approach could ultimately serve as a blueprint for sustainable digital transformation across the public sector.
“By combining technology adoption with practical skills transfer, hands-on enablement and capability development, we can empower departments to unlock greater value from their Microsoft investments, improve service delivery, and cultivate the deep technical expertise required to support long-term innovation and self-sufficiency across the province,” Silimela said.
NKUSI-IT Siyasebenza has reaffirmed its commitment to working with Microsoft and government institutions not only to deploy technology, but also to develop the skills, confidence and internal capabilities needed to adopt, govern and derive sustainable value from Microsoft technologies.
The programme has therefore emerged as more than a technical training intervention – it represents a step towards building a stronger, more self-sufficient digital workforce capable of driving innovation and improving public-sector service delivery across the Eastern Cape.
Giving a message of support, Tswakai Luke, Director for Government Information and Communication Technology Management at COGTA, lauded NKUSI-IT for what she described as a “well-planned and meaningful” event.
She said: “This programme came at the right time for us as government continues to look for smarter, faster and more practical ways of serving our communities. The hands-on approach made the learning real and relatable, giving participants a proper feel for how Microsoft Power Platform can be used to automate work, improve service delivery and support digital transformation across the public sector.”
In conclusion, Luke said COGTA truly values its ongoing partnership with NKUSI-IT, adding that she looks forward to “walking this digital transformation journey together as we continue to build a capable, innovative and future-ready Eastern Cape provincial government”.
NKUSI-IT's Chief Commercial Officer Dr Nomonde Ngxola, a longstanding advocate for digital transformation and for what she calls “skills emancipation” in concrete, hands-on technology, said the training was deliberately hosted at the Steve Biko Centre in the historic Ginsberg township in Qonce to coincide with the 48th anniversary commemorations of the life of the renowned anti-apartheid activist.
Ngxola said the decision reflected the organisation’s commitment to connecting technology and skills development with Biko’s enduring vision of empowering African communities.
“We took the event to his birthplace in the township because we share the same values Biko had around the development and empowerment of Africans in the townships, reaffirming our commitment to township economic development,” said Ngxola.
For Ngxola, the COGTA programme is emblematic of a wider philosophy she has championed throughout her career: that digital transformation only takes root when it is paired with genuine skills transfer and applied, hands-on learning, rather than technology being handed down to communities and departments from the outside.
“Technology on its own doesn’t emancipate anyone,” said Ngxola. “Real transformation happens when people are equipped with concrete, practical skills they can apply immediately in their own work. That is how you build sustainability – not by leaving a system behind, but by leaving capability behind.”
She added that initiatives such as the COGTA Power Apps Skills Transfer Programme reflect NKUSI-IT Siyasebenza’s broader commitment to applied learning models that transfer real, lasting capability to government teams, rather than one-off training with no lasting impact.
Share
