NEWS
Curtailing youth unemployment in
the Fourth Industrial Revolution
T
he Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and
coordinator of Government’s 4IR programme, Stella Ndabeni-
Abrahams, in partnership with MICT SETA, has launched a pilot skills
development programme in its commitment to create one million
new jobs by 2030.
President Ramaphosa has appointed the 4IR commission to
address, amongst other things, the skills gaps to future proof SA’s
economy and reduce youth unemployment, a challenge part due to
technological disruption and structural inequalities.
The pilot phase of the project aims to train and equip 1,000
unemployed youth with the 4IR ICT skills necessary to secure
learnerships, employment and ultimately, start new businesses.
The skills development programme has been segmented into seven
streams: data science, digital content production, cybersecurity, cloud
computing, drone piloting, 3D Printing and software development.
FIRtech has partnered with the Ministry of Communications
and Digital Technologies to deliver parts of the overall 4IR Skills
Programme, while other partners to the programme include the
University of Johannesburg (UJ), Boston City Campus and Microsoft
South Africa.
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution has changed the way we work and
interact with each other,” said FIRtech CEO Ugan Maistry.
“The soft skills of working with teams and service orientation are
critical success factors and we plan to impart these skills during our
work readiness programmes.”
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Tshimologong Precinct invites innovative
growth-stage businesses to enter
Techaccel programme
T
he Tshimologong Digital Innovation
Precinct, together with one of South
Africa’s tech giants, are calling on growth-
stage startups to participate in this year’s
TechAccel programme, a high-impact
accelerator designed specifically for growing
tech companies.
The programme was created to enable the
development of growth-stage tech startups,
using a bootcamp format that will run over
five weeks, from February 3 to March 6. It will
focus on helping startups improve their skills
and overall business efficiency so that each
can focus on the most important aspects of
growing its venture.
The TechAccel Programme will culminate
in an investment proposal and pitch. The
winning participants earn an investment
of up to R500k in required products and
services. To win the prize, the tech startups
12
INTELLIGENTCIO
need to demonstrate how the investment
will be used to accelerate the business.
The competition is open to technology
companies, which are defined as entities
whose main focus of business is on the
development and manufacturing of
technology, or providing technology as
a service, as opposed to tech-enabled
companies which primarily deliver a
service using technology. The business
must have a minimum of one-year trading
as a CIPC registered business, should be
Black South African owned and managed
and turnover need to be between R120k
to R50 million per annum. Enter by visiting
tshimologong.co.za/techaccel-programme
by November 15.
www.intelligentcio.com