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ICT skills boost for WCape youth

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 27 Oct 2016
The Java post-matric programme provides Western Cape students with business and professional skills.
The Java post-matric programme provides Western Cape students with business and professional skills.

The Western Cape government and Oracle's Java post-matric programme are helping unemployed youth gain on-the-job experience and secure work opportunities in the tech industry.

This is the word from Alan Winde, MEC for the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, commenting on the importance of driving tech skills and job development among young people.

The Western Cape government, together with the Oracle Academy and Media, Information and Communications Technology Sector Education and Training Authority, decided to fund the post-matric programme aimed at getting young coders ready for the corporate world soon after leaving school.

From this year's cohort, 37 students graduated earlier this month, and are completing six-month internships with leading digital companies in the Western Cape, according to Winde.

"This initiative showcases what we can achieve through partnerships between the public and private sectors.

"The Western Cape government has selected skills as a game-changer, with significant potential to grow the economy. This programme is playing an important role in delivering skills in the tech industry to our young people. They're receiving the valuable on-the-job experience they need to start their careers."

In terms of the outcomes of the post-matric Java programme, school-leavers are assisted with the first step in their careers, it fast-tracks their progress and earning potential, Western Cape-based digital companies develop a pipeline of in-demand Java coding skills, and the increase in skilled coders helps build a vital knowledge economy in the Western Cape.

The Java post-matric initiative has also motivated other academic training centres in the Western Cape to introduce it as part of their training.

On the Ball College and CapaCiTi implemented the programme, with On the Ball College delivering Java training to the participants, and CapaCiTi helping the students develop their business and professional skills.

"Up-skilling students on business and professional skills, including insight into corporate culture, customer service, communication skills, personal branding and ethics, makes their transition into the corporate world far smoother, and ensures they have a real impact on the business from day one," explains Alethea Hagemann, head of the CapaCiTi skills development programme at CiTi.

She adds: "It's inspiring to see the candidates, who were in grade 12 only a year ago, thriving in the corporate world as interns and forming a clearer picture of the next steps in their careers."

Provincial MEC for education Debbie Schafer notes Java is one of the most in-demand coding skills around the world, and South Africa is no different.

"We are failing our learners if we don't get them excited about the potential to create with Java. Through our school programme and now this post-matric extension, we are equipping school-leavers for the working world, and giving them the best tools to innovate and solve problems using technology."

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