Youth beef up their ICT skills
The youth of Orient Hills have become part of the ICT Skills training programme and will learn about future technology and the opportunities it creates.
Young people from Mogale City now have the opportunity to learn valuable digital skills in order to seize opportunities in digitisation.
The Department of e-Government opened their ICT skills development programme to the youth of Orient Hills on October 19 and 20. The programme is an initiative hosted under the Gauteng Centre of Excellence which is an innovation centre that has been established by the Gauteng Provincial Government in partnership with Microsoft SA to contribute towards the digital skills development in the province.
Nothando Mdhlulio, the Deputy Director of Media Relations at the Gauteng Department of eGovernment said in a statement that more than 15 000 people have already been trained in the 2021 financial year.
The programme started in September 2020 and is supported by eGovernment’s mandate to drive digital transformation in the Gauteng province.
In realising this mandate, the department also sees the need for ICT skills development for the youth thereby contributing towards youth employment,” read the statement.
The MEC for Finance and eGovernment, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko addressed the youth of Orient Hills and said it was important to prioritise the issue of skills development in order for them to benefit from ICT opportunities.
‘We are saying this because in today’s age, people with ICT skills are in demand by employers in many sectors. This training initiative is created to help you as individuals from our townships and elsewhere to gain certain knowledge and a qualification which will serve as a starting point towards your future,” the MEC said.
The programme will cover subjects such as 5G knowledge, Cloud service development, Big data, and more. It also provides learners with an introduction into Artificial Intelligence and the functioning of advanced robotics to ensure they are empowered with the necessary skills in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Gauteng Premier, David Makhura also attended the event and said technology had become a very important part of human life. It was important that people had advanced skills, and that young people be innovators and seek out the opportunities brought by technology.
We are currently the leading province in building a digital economy in South Africa, and although the Fourth Industrial Revolution has major risks, technology offers immense opportunities. I am glad that this programme has not excluded the youth located in the rural parts of Gauteng, and we will continue to drive this initiative by expanding broadband coverage in order to include all the young people of Gauteng,” the Premier said.
The ICT training programme had been rolled out across Sedibeng, Ekurhuleni, the West Rand, Johannesburg and Tshwane.
