Microsoft has officially unveiled the Jobs Fund, supported by the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), and aimed at empowering more than 3 000 innovative youth.
Speaking at the event in Newtown, Johannesburg, Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, said the initiative is looking to empower the youth by giving them a platform to acquire the skills necessary to curb unemployment.
"Through the 4Afrika initiative, we're looking to empower the youth by bridging the skills gap in the ICT market. The Jobs Fund is designed to make an impact while building capacity in employment," he said.
According to Courtois, Gartner estimated that by 2015 there will be about 40.4 million jobs created, which he says needs to be matched with the global projection of 600 million jobs.
"The projections indicate that there will be a need in 10 years to compensate for losses caused by current economic turbulence," he said.
"Microsoft is launching a number of initiatives that support the youth, including YouthSpark, which has half-a-billion dollars to create entrepreneurship opportunities. We're looking to connect more than 300 million youths globally by empowering them to be a part of the spark of change through giving them access to the latest technology."
DBSA CEO Patrick Dlamini spoke of how the DBSA is partnering with Microsoft to assist in the initiative. "Two years ago, the South African minister Pravin Gordhan unveiled the Jobs Fund, and we've decided to take him up on the offer in an effort to change lives for the better.
"About R146 million has been approved as a grant towards the project, and we're inviting the youth to add value by bringing innovation and creativity to the forefront. So far we've received about 66 projects, which allowed for the contribution of R3.6 billion," he said.
"Those projects should create at least 20 000 jobs and provide skills and opportunity training to about 14 000 youths," Dlamini continued.
According to Mthetho Nyathi, MD of Microsoft SA, the three tiers that would enhance the entrants' opportunities are access, skills and innovation.
"The MS 4Afrika initiative is about building strong partnerships, and we've realised we can't do that without working together. The three tiers that we're looking at include ideas that are helping to improve access to the Net, not just in SA, but in Africa, as the continent does not have easy access," he said.
"We're looking for local innovation that will eliminate the skills gap in the ICT industry. Through the initiative, we're looking to touch 1.5 million youth in SA by equipping them while they are still at school."
The company also mentioned the Student2Business (S2B) initiative, a platform that looks at investing in start-ups. Programme manager at Microsoft SA, Charlene Verzmoter, said S2B would look at concepts in various parts of academia.
"Some of the requirements for the S2B initiative are that the individual must at least have a three-year IT-related qualification, be between the ages of 18-35, and must be unemployed. We will consider employment equity as the mandate required," she concluded.
Prospective students can register on the S2B Web site, and the Jobs Fund Web site.
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