In an effort to address the digital skills gap in SA, Livity Africa, in partnership with the British Council, Google SA and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, yesterday unveiled a training programme that seeks to introduce young people to the world of digital marketing.
The programme aims to provide students with the opportunity to get acquainted with the essentials of the digital industry and give them a hands-on experience with the different elements of digital marketing.
Digify Bytes is a two-day programme that was created as an off-shoot of the original Digify training programme, which is a bootcamp that runs for three months. It will be led by experienced Digify alumni who are now working in the digital marketing industry.
According to Gavin Weale, MD of Livity Africa, the programme aims to replicate the original Digify programme by providing young people with the opportunity to find out more about the digital industry and encourage them to pursue a career in the industry - thereby addressing the huge skills gap in the industry.
The goal of Digify Bytes is to allow young people to take over the digital space, open doors, and give them entry to areas they find hard to access, says Weale.
"We are trying to have the greatest impact in the shortest amount of time. We can make a huge amount of progress and really teach young people a lot - we have proven it with the three-month course."
It's quite experimental at this stage and will be tested to see how it works and then tweaked, explains Weale. The programme will start with tertiary institutions in Johannesburg; targeting third-year students from different faculties who are about to complete their studies.
Because these are the people who are starting to think about what their career might be, through this programme, they will be made aware of digital jobs that are out there - setting them on a path towards a digital job, he notes.
The ambition of this initiative is to mitigate youth unemployment and fill the skills gap since the education system, including the tertiary system, is not providing a comprehensive digital curriculum, adds Weale.
Luke McKend, country manager at Google SA, says there are so many opportunities for young people to get involved in the digital space but they are not being taken up because there is lack of awareness about the jobs as well as lack of skills.
He believes what is needed in SA is a wave of entrepreneurs in the digital environment who are going to solve problems in their communities and, hopefully, make money in the process.
"What we are trying to do is give young people in the industry a set of skills they can apply almost immediately and place them in jobs."
Zama ka Ndlovu, Youthlab co-founder and director of public engagement in the presidency, says youth unemployment is a very big challenge in SA and the government welcomes anything that offers young people an advantage to gain employment.
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