For some high school graduates, getting into institutions of higher learning for further study is often difficult, so they end up taking a gap year.
But a north high school graduate defied the odds when he ventured into the ICT and tech industry after taking a chance on an experiment.
Owner of an ICT company, Katlego Shiri (34) of Montana, shared his journey of how he went from getting an education on YouTube to owning a tech company at 22 years of age.
After high school, Shiri said he did not study further because he didn’t know what he wanted to study.
Shiri said for some income, he cultivated customers for his friend who worked for a tech company. Then one day, a local businesswoman wanted the friend to install a CCTV camera system at her pawnshop, but the friend was not available.
“With no prior experience, I decided to take on the job. I used a free YouTube video to learn how to install the system and, after some trial and error at home, I successfully completed the installation.”
Shiri said soon thereafter, another request came in. He then realised there was a demand for these services among small businesses.
He said that encouraged him to continue watching more YouTube videos to gain better knowledge.
“I learnt how CCTV systems actually work and the names and parts of installation equipment, and would spend most of my time practising what I had learnt.”
He said more than 90% of what he knows about the ICT industry was learned from YouTube.
“With what I continuously learnt over time, I expanded my services to include internet, data, and voice-over-internet-protocol services, which have become essential for many entrepreneurs based in Pretoria,” he said.
Shiri said YouTube education is like a university, just one that doesn’t need a person to study for specific years to obtain a qualification.
“Learning on YouTube is tailor-made education because the lessons and training focus solely on what you ask for at that time,” he said.
He advised the youth that, in a country facing an unemployment crisis, exploring YouTube to learn new skills and ideas is a viable path for people with limited resources.
“It is not an easy journey to self-educate, but with patience and determination, you can succeed in your journey.”
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