Investment group 4Sight Holdings is bolstering the country’s skills pool with a R10 million programme that will provide young people with niche training in fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies.
The pilot project, unveiled yesterday, has 50 participants who have been guaranteed employment on certification.
Participants will be grouped into two streams, one for functional consultants and the other for cloud developers.
Some 60% of the participants, the company says, will potentially be female and if the pilot project is successful, 4Sight would likely triple the intake in 2023.
Candidates will undergo a 12-week technical training programme, after which 4Sight will add six weeks of specialist training related to technologies relevant to the 4IR, as well as integrated workplace readiness training.
The training is accredited by the Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority.
The pilot programme developed by Alt X-listed 4Sight follows recent concerns raised on capital flight in the technology sector.
“Our learning programmes will help solve the skills gaps in our industry, and 4Sight will become the first place people will turn to learn more about careers, develop new skills, retrain for new positions and sharpen their skills,” said Eric van der Merwe, 4Sight CFO, at the time.
4Sight says that together with its partners, the company has designed the training programme to maximise the chances of success.
“To realise the potential of the 4IR, we desperately need a deep pipeline of talent with the right skills. At present, they are in short supply, which is the reason we are prepared to invest so heavily in this project,” says Tracy Short, 4Sight COO.
The 4Sight initiative will be based in KwaZulu-Natal, to tap into a new pool of talent outside of Gauteng, Short notes.
“What’s so often missing from youth training initiatives is the all-important job at the end of it,” says Tertius Zitzke, CEO of 4Sight.
“We believe our guarantee of employment is really something out of the ordinary and is the reason we have been so fortunate to get the participation of such excellent partners − we are so grateful for their support.
“We are delighted to be giving 50 young people this opportunity, but even better will be to see them exploit the opportunity and inspire IT talent for tomorrow.”
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