Some 400 students recently graduated from a new training initiative, created to provide participants with cutting-edge knowledge and tools in a variety of IT specialisations. These newly skilled graduates should thus be able to make an immediate impact in a sector crying out for skills.
Based on IBM’s Workforce Development Initiative, the company’s Workforce Development Solutions (WDS) programme is a first of its kind training programme in information and communications technology in South Africa. The WDS has been put together in conjunction with the MICT Seta, with ICT Worx as the authorised training provider.
ICT Worx is known as a training provider that offers further education and short term training to the mature student. Its stated goal is to develop IT skills for the African continent, empowering people with knowledge to prosper in their respective careers.
According to Hennie Pienaar, CEO at ICT Worx, although the course is an IBM initiative, the course focused on developing IT skills for the industry and his company went the extra mile in supporting the student’s personal growth.
Balancing theoretical work with hands-on training, the curricula is designed to ensure all participants have a strong knowledge base and skills set comprising of both core and specialised IT skills, as well as soft skills. Each graduate received certificate of achievement from IBM in their specialisation track.
“One of the major goals was to offer these students a range of learnings, including technical skills, time management skills and communications skills. The aim being to expose them to the concept of project management and give them an understanding of the role a project manager plays, since project management is a key future skill. We wanted them to realise that project success is not only about technology, but equally about people,” he says.
Adolph Mpyana, one of the students graduating from the course states: “This has been a fantastic opportunity for us to be more exposed to ICT and to learn a whole new set of skills. These skills have not only been the core and the specialist IT skills we will need in the future, but also the soft skills necessary to communicate effectively and work better as a team. The latter is just as crucial, since when it comes to being an employee, the manner in which you communicate ultimately determines how well you can do your job.”
Pinky Nkwane, a fellow student, adds: “We have learned much and gained vital experience, all while acquiring IT, personal and software skills. Not only did we learn to work with people and to listen and respect each other’s’ opinions, we obtained crucial troubleshooting skills and, perhaps most importantly, problem solving skills.”
Pienaar believes that this course, which he hopes will only be the tip of a much larger training iceberg, achieved its goal of capacity building.
“There is no doubt that ICT has an enormous influence on the economy; therefore, a shortage of ICT professionals will quite obviously hinder economic growth. Although this programme is partly aimed at supporting the skills needs of IBM business partners, we must not forget that ultimately, it’s about the people. We are proud that we have implemented a programme that is enabling youngsters – who may otherwise not have had the opportunity to really succeed in the ICT environment – to begin building a successful career,” he concludes.
