Columbus SA, the enterprise and lifecycle management products vendor, has kicked off a skills programme that will see it train and internationally certify over 200 people as Columbus technicians.
Theo Fourie, CEO of Columbus SA, says certified technology experts are hard to find in SA, especially outside of Gauteng and the Western Cape.
"With a growing number of installations in the public and private sectors, we need to ensure our partners and customers have the required skills to support their Columbus systems and maximise their benefits."
Fourie says the initiative means Columbus partners can now send their technicians for training at the company's central Gauteng education centre, where they can be certified on one or all the modules available.
For those needing to train a large number of technicians, Columbus also sends its instructors to provide on-site training.
"It is in our interests to assist our partners in getting their technicians fully certified," says Fourie.
"However, to make a lasting contribution to the country, Columbus is also busy identifying small black-owned companies looking to gear up for the IT services market.
"These companies will receive free training and certification. Already, over 60% of our graduates are from previously-disadvantaged communities."
Fourie says Columbus has 193 fully trained technicians in SA, "a number that will exceed 200 before the end of the year".
He notes that interest from the rest of Africa is also increasing. "While we are focusing on SA at the moment, the uptake of Columbus in the rest of Africa is increasing and we have already trained two technicians from our partner Comtel, supporting the Bank of Africa in Uganda this year, with enquiries from other countries in hand."
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