Novell CNE bursary programme opens up a world of opportunity for young graduate

It has been said that leaders are born. Hastings Malenge, a Novell bursary programme graduate and acting procurement executive at SITA (State Information Technology Agency), believes that unless you grab the opportunity to rediscover yourself, you will never know whether that statement applies to you or not.

Malenge has proved that it`s not necessary to have a technical background in order to begin, and succeed at a career in IT. His extensive experience in marketing, where he worked as an equipment consultant in the farming industry, led Malenge to realise that the future of all business lay in IT.

"It became obvious to me that no matter which environment one worked in, a PC was essential," he relates. "I decided the time had come to enhance my own IT skills, and perhaps consider pursuing a career in the industry."

It is perhaps ironic that a close friend of Malenge`s happened to be studying one of Novell`s certification courses at the time. "Up until then I had thought of a computer as merely a machine on which to play games," he says, "but when my friend began showing me what could be achieved using Novell technology, the bug bit and I was hooked. I had to learn more."

Having heard about Novell`s bursary programme, Malenge wasted no time in submitting his application, believing that the CNE route was the best way to begin a career in IT. Needless to say, he was delighted when Novell contacted him to attend an aptitude test. "After completing it, I learned to my surprise that I had scored the highest of all the applicants present there that day."

Malenge enrolled at the Pinpoint training institute in Johannesburg and begun studying in earnest. Within three weeks, he had written and passed his first exam, and five months later he had passed the remaining six.

According to bursary programme administrator Patricia Leaman, this is no mean achievement, as most students take around one year to complete the CNE certification on a full-time study basis. "We assisted Hastings in finding employment as a systems support engineer, and he began working for Connectivity Technologies, a company that specialised in networking infrastructure support, a month before he completed his studies," she relates.

Malenge stayed on at Connectivity Solutions until the company`s merger with Plessey in 1998, when he left to join a leading auditing firm as IT manager. Two years later he accepted the position of senior technical manager at SITA. "My responsibilities included the government call centre and assisting with the helpdesk operations."

Six months later, Malenge was appointed acting procurement executive, responsible for government IT acquisition.

He is the first to acknowledge that without the opportunity afforded him by Novell, he wouldn`t have any of these accomplishments behind his name. "Novell does more than just enable previously disadvantaged individuals to acquire a CNE certification," he says. "They also ensure that those who come out of it add value to the IT industry, and consequently the national economy as a whole."

Malenge`s aspirations do not end there, however. Next year he plans to enrol in an MBA in IT, and also dreams of owning his own IT company one day. "From here, the sky`s the limit," he enthuses.

"I am convinced that Hastings will one day achieve his dream," Leaman predicts. "His story is exactly what Novell`s CNE bursary programme sets out to do - provide financial support to up-and-coming IT professionals (particularly previously disadvantaged individuals) so that they might obtain IT skills and become marketable in the job sector."

"Anyone who decides to pursue a career in IT has to start somewhere, and I believe the CNE certification programme is the correct entry point," says Malenge. "It`s an excellent programme, and I am really grateful to Novell for the opportunity they gave me - it has undoubtedly changed my life."

He also believes that government should assist private sector companies in setting up programmes like the Novell bursary programme, and should even go so far as to use successful graduates like himself to promote IT among young people.

Since the programme`s establishment seven years ago, Novell has invested no less than R2 million in producing CNE-qualified technicians. Applicants have to undergo stringent selection criteria before being admitted to the bursary programme.

"We receive about 300 applications each year," Leaman explains. "All the applicants are interviewed several times and are also required write an IT aptitude test to determine their technology skills level - a basic understanding of networking principles is an added advantage. From these, 10 are eventually selected to attend the CNE course, all of whom are previously disadvantaged individuals."

The course can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis. According to Leaman, successful graduates usually have no problem finding immediate employment in the IT industry. "The CNE qualification is vendor-neutral, which gives the graduates a significant advantage when seeking employment," she says.

The programme continues to enjoy a high success rate. "Many past graduates are now holding senior technical positions in the industry. Our vision is that, in time, at least one of our graduates will become managing director of a leading company," Leaman concludes.