How you can help build the next ICT generation

With 34.4% of our citizens unemployed and the majority of that (74.8%) being youth aged between 15 and 24, combined with the fact it is no secret that South African businesses have a major skills deficit in the next generation of our workforce, organisations have an immense opportunity to make an impact. 

By employing more youth in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) businesses can propel Africa into the future, bridge the skills deficit of our workforce, close the gender divide, and help the unemployment gap. 

There are three ways companies can participate to advance women in the industry: 

Learnerships

The challenge in learnerships is twofold: firstly, companies have to deal with the administrative challenges associated with SETA applications, learnership hiring, management of the learner, training, reporting, admin, document records, auditing and then the successful absorption or placement of the learner. 

Employing young highly skilled individuals means not only hiring employees with the necessary skills to improve their businesses but also improving their B-BBEE score, getting tax rebates, and most importantly a sustainable transition into the digital economy. 

Our role as the facilitators of these learnerships benefit both parties. For companies we handle the full suite skills development solution necessary from hiring, SETA admin, reporting, mentoring, training, and placement – taking away the burden of learnerships which is often a big inhibitor to the process. 

Secondly, a challenge that we often hear businesses facing when it comes to employing young team members is that the education, they have received is incomplete in terms of soft skills such as communication and etiquette to properly equip them to be productive members of a team. On the other hand, you have ambitious technically qualified young workers who – due to inexperience – are unable to get a start in the industry. 

Dynamic DNA’s learnership program offers young learners the ability to pursue a career in the ICT sector with special focus on upskilling and facilitating workplace placement for their graduates. In addition to providing technical skills, they focus on practical and soft skills such as communication skills, work etiquette, time management, presentation skills, and more elements essential to them creating fulfilling careers.

Dynamic DNA graduates can build innovative solutions across multiple technologies, both on-premises and in the cloud. They learn the skills to design and build agile applications in a complex business environment making them a valuable asset to the workforce.

4IR4Her

We empower women in ICT through the 4IR4HER movement, a Dynamic DNA programme that brings women empowerment, female youth, and women in tech together. 4IR is the term given for the profound period of transition we find ourselves in. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR, or Industry 4.0 refers to the rapid change to technology, industries, and societal patterns we see due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. 

As a democratising force, 4IR is potentially powerful and could provide women with the opportunity to compete in the knowledge economy. However, this only if happen if adequate attention is paid to existing gender divisions and equal opportunities are assured.  

Having come from humble beginnings growing up in Soweto, I believe in shaping the future and enriching lives by developing and empowering young black women by both giving access to education and showing what is possible in my career,” says Prudence.

For many young women, it is hard to envision someone on TV and aspire to be just like them when they are so different. I hope that, by teaching young women to see the bigger vision of what they can become through my eyes, we will see more young women in positions of real power. 

When people look at black women excellence, they want to see a picture. There is a gap for women to take on powerful positions in business, in the technology sector and entrepreneurship and yet we see a few successful women who have made it in the industry.  I want to change the narrative for young women to one where you do not need to be interlinked to a man to become successful.

Through 4IR4, we are intentionally moving women towards different 4IR tech opportunities in streams like Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and UX/IX by assisting them to equip themselves with key skills for the future. Currently, there are 15 women in the programme.

It is a crucial part of the learning journey to be paired up with an entrepreneur that is successful in the tech or business space to learn the key lessons you can never be taught in a book.  How to manoeuvre through your day as a businesswoman, how to diversify revenue streams if you are self-employed, what do you do when you see risks in your business, what contingency plans you need and so on.

Pay your device forward 

I am a firm believer that Covid-19 should not become yet another barrier black women have to overcome to receive the education they are entitled to. However, there is no doubt that it has affected learning and skills development around the world because of how the education landscape hybridise digital learning training and it is the responsibility of businesses to ensure our underprivileged youth don’t get left behind. 

In response to this shift in the landscape, Dynamic DNA in Partnership with COMETSA Friends & Supporters Club NPO and Kaya FM launched a campaign that will enable learners from the disadvantaged community to access online training. The campaign calls to individuals and corporates alike to “Pay Your Device Forward” and donate new/old devices like laptops, smartphones, WiFi routers and tablets to enable continuous skills development for the disadvantaged youth.

When you look at the employment challenges within South Africa today, the predominant reason why our statistics are so high is because of a lack of skills in industries related to the 4IR that is booming. Businesses need to set up sustainable ways to digitise and young people need to be fully equipped with skills that will still be relevant over the coming decades. I hope that by equipping our youth properly for powerful positions as entrepreneurial leaders, we will see greater success for all.