South Africa’s Department of Communications has created a National e-Skills Dialogue Initiative (NeSDI) in an attempt to address the prevailing skills shortage in the country’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
Says Department of Communications spokesperson Joe Makhafola: “There is a serious shortage of skills within the ICT sector in South Africa. The National e-Skills Dialogue Initiative (NeSDI) is a first step in realising the objective of a fully operational Meraka e-Skills Institute by 2010,”
“In September 2008 the e-Skills Council submitted a comprehensive report, arguing that a national programme is urgently required to achieve a large scale improvement in the supply of those ICT skills for which there is a need in industry, but also in society generally.”
The goal of the NeSDI is to engage with a spectrum of relevant role players from government, industry, social partners and academia in multi-stakeholder dialogue and partnerships for action.
The skills shortage has many causes, including the lack of access to education and training, and the recent trend of skilled professionals migrating to other countries.
