TDF Computer People Development took top honours at the ITBIP`s graduation ceremony last week, where 16 of this year`s 23 students graduated from the programme.
The ITBIP, or Information Technology Banking Internship Programme, provides young IT professionals from previously disadvantaged communities with the necessary IT skills to enter the banking industry`s under-staffed IT sector. The ITBIP is funded by the private sector and Educational Development for Democratic Innovation (EDDI), an American NGO.
TDF, an IT training organisation with branches in Johannesburg and Pretoria, has been running for 15 years. In each of the November 2000 and May 2001 Information Technology Users Council (ITUC) exams, TDF students accounted for seven of the top 10 performers. Three of these top 10 students were also among those who graduated last week from the ITBIP programme.
According to TDF MD Francois Gersbach, the company`s success at the ITBIP graduation is a result of his company`s no-nonsense approach to training only the best candidates.
"The banking sector, or the entire IT sector for that matter, requires only the brightest and most committed candidates and we`re proud to be associated with such students.
"It is all very well for private training companies to put forward excellent internal pass-rates. However, it is external examination and internship programmes such as the ITBIP`s which independently evaluate the quality of our training. We`re therefore very proud to have seen so many of our students pass the difficult ITBIP programme and even happier to have made a contribution to the skills problem by placing them all in jobs within the industry," Gersbach said.
The 41 ITBIP graduates all received a certificate either in systems development or systems engineering. On average, TDF trains up to 35 students every year to sit for the ITBIP exam.
The graduation ceremony was held at the Reserve Bank`s Newtown premises. The Reserve Bank is an ITBIP partner. Other partner banks include Absa, First National Bank, Standard Bank, Nedcor, PQ, and more recently, Investec.
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