Curbing youth unemployment is pivotal for digital academy
JOHANNESBURG– The latest showcase has ensured that both parties continue to pass on the support and skills that South Africa's youth need.
Helping to bridge a skills shortage in the technology and banking sectors is the aim of a six-month programme hosted by Absa and The Digital Academy at the Central Business District.
The recent technology showcase unveiled solutions and applications built byThe Digital Academy’s interns as part of the programme.
“We are dedicated to equipping the youth with the tools, knowledge and skills that they need in order to have a voice in the development of products and services of the future,” managing director and co-founder of the Digital Academy, Gary Bannatyne said.
“Digital skills are among the most in-demand from employers and programmes such as our rapid internship programme helps to alleviate the problem.”
The academy has created a real-world and industry-leading platform which allowed for young software developers to grow technically and to solve real problems with innovative solutions.
Participants in the internship work in simulated software development environments, which encourage digital product innovation in Africa and allow skills to be aligned to industry demand.
Revealed by Statistics South Africa that about one in three young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 were unemployed, enrolled in educational programmes or involved in training initiatives. One of the reasons for this stated by Stats SA was due to a lack of skills among the youth and without any assistance or intervention, many of them face the likelihood of long-term unemployment.
Programme manager for Young Talent and Citizenship in Absa’s technology division, Lee-Anne Wyman added, “Disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things, robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way we live and work.
Photo: Supplied.
“We need to train and develop a skilled workforce that has the ability to take part in the digital revolution which is one of the reasons that our partnership with The Digital Academy is so important.”
Wyman believed that together they have the ability to bring possibilities to life and that hand-in-hand they can play a shaping role in society. “Each year, The Digital Academy hosts two intakes of 30 students that are trained for six months. The only prerequisite for joining the programme is for students to have completed matric, to have a foundation in coding and a passion for technology.
“The initiative supports the young interns in their development by building commercially focused prototypes that address local challenges for the local and African market. To date, 178 interns have been placed at Absa as part of the work-based experience component of the internship as 12 are current interns, 85 have been placed permanently and 41 have been placed on fixed-term contracts.”
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