In its quest to address the issue of skills for the digital era and youth employability, T-Systems South Africa (TSSA) has been using its Nation Building Initiative to drive digital skills development and employment opportunities for young people.
The latest intake into its long-running youth programme includes 120 Grade 12 graduates walking through the doors of its ICT Academy to start a learnership covering technical support, systems support, systems development, and telecommunications.
T-Systems’ ICT Academy was established in 2003 to address the digital skills shortage in the country. Aligned with youth month, the 120 learners have been taken on by the Academy’s learnership programmes that run in conjunction with Media Information and Communication Technology (MICT) Seta.
Since its inception, more than 2000 graduates have qualified from the ICT Academy with an internationally recognised qualification. Moreover, 85% have secured employment by being given the opportunity to apply for positions at TSSA once they have successfully completed the internship programme.
“Other graduates are recruited from the ICT Academy and specifically placed with the customer interaction center and various technical teams at TSSA as well as our customer sites,” says Marcus Karuppan, TSSA ICT Academy Manager.
Karuppan adds that “the aim of the programme is to ensure that the youth of our country are introduced to the necessary digital skills which will better equip them for the world of work and the various Industry 4.0 innovations that are being introduced into our socio-economic environment”.
Dineo Molefe, MD at T-Systems South Africa, says “we are committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate. It’s not just about profits. Our goal is to create a sustainable environment and to contribute to their lives. The internship and learnerships form part of our National Building Initiative, which dovetails with the National Development Plan vision for 2030. We place a lot of importance on giving back in a sustainable manner and education is one of the cornerstones that impacts not only a person’s life but also that of the economy too.”
Edited by Jenna Cook
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