South Africa: Vodacom Empowers Youth With ICT Skills
Vodacom South Africa has embarked on a drive to help empower unemployed youth with ICT skills training in a bid to help tackle skills development and job creation within the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.
Through its Mobile Education programme in partnership with Cisco and MICT-Seta Vodacom kicked-off a youth development project at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), Port Elizabeth. The partnership aims to train unemployed youth in ICT skills and to further develop them into ICT entrepreneurs.
“This is Vodacom’s contribution towards the creation of skills development and job creation opportunities for unemployed youth. It is premised on concept that the more skilled the youth are, the greater their opportunity for employment. We know that Cisco technical skills are some of the most sought after skills in the ICT industry” Vodacom Chief Officer: Corporate Affairs, Maya Makanjee said
The training will impart skills in A+, N+ and 3G connectivity for a period of six months. The project will train and develop 15 ICT entrepreneurs in each of the nine Vodacom ICT resource centre situated in all the provinces. The total number of trainees will be 135. All participants’ stipend and accommodation will be paid for by Vodacom. On entrepreneurial skills, the training will run for a period of six months and will focus on empowering the youth with business skills.
The Vodacom youth skills development project focuses in particular on helping nurture skills needed in the ICT industry, with the potential for beneficiaries to be offered practical experience that will include projects such as ICT installation in schools, providing connectivity in schools and rural areas. Trainees will also be used in the technical support for the schools that are part of the Vodacom Mobile Education programme.
Credit: IT News Africa.
