The demand for black technical skills is expected to escalate dramatically as the ICT sector comes under increasing pressure to meet employment equity quotas and comply with the pending ICT charter.
Recognising this, JSE-listed trusted transactions company, Prism Holdings, has launched its first official internship programme aimed at empowering people with the technical skills and experience to pursue a career within this industry.
According to Martin Long, Human Resources Director at Prism, the programme further aims to close the gap between the theory learned at tertiary institutions and being able to apply that theory practically in the work environment.
"Often students are faced with not having the necessary experience in order to secure a job in their chosen field when leaving university or technikon. Those who are successful in finding a job then face difficulties in applying the knowledge they gained while studying. Through this initiative, Prism hopes to close the loop and enable candidates to immediately add value within the work environment," says Long.
Prism`s pilot internship programme was introduced towards the end of 2004 with two handpicked candidates. From the minute they arrived, both Godfrey Seema and Nelly Nkosi were regarded as an integral part of the company.
"For Prism, it was important that the interns be considered as fully-fledged employees right from the outset and they were immediately absorbed into the company. They are included in meetings, given real tasks to do and required to take ownership of their projects," explains Long.
He adds that buy-in from the top has been critical to the project`s success and to ensure the candidates receive the proper mentorship, training and support from qualified professionals within the company.
The two interns will be with Prism for a period of five months. Both have been assigned to a mentor who is responsible for developing their technical skills and integrating them into the work environment.
Seema, who has a National Diploma in Information Technology, says he has benefited immensely from working closely with his mentor, Dr Piet de Weerdt who is a technical specialist at Prism.
"I have always wanted to be a Java programmer but I never imagined how my training and qualification could be applied in the field of wireless applications and chipcards. Being part of some of Prism`s current projects has opened my eyes to how I can put what I have learned into practice," concludes Seema.
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JSE-listed Prism Holdings Limited is a leader in the field of secure electronic transaction technologies and services. The group has a strong presence in SA and an established and expanding footprint across Africa and South-East Asia. Prism`s head office is located in Johannesburg and has a regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Prism has a proven track record in the delivery of trusted transaction technologies and end-to-end solutions for the retail, utilities, banking, cellular and petroleum industries. The group has developed and implemented innovative transaction and payment-centric intellectual property that bridges the following technologies:
* Chip cards including SIM cards, financial smart cards and prepaid telephone cards.
* Point-of-Sale frameworks, applications and devices.
* OEM transaction modules including PINpads, card readers and outside payment terminals.
* Transaction security modules and servers and trusted centre solutions.
* In-store and forecourt payment servers, wireless application messaging gateways and value-added-services gateways.
* End-to-end secure electronic payment architectures for wired and wireless networks.
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