Curtailing youth unemployment in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
December 2019
News
The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and coordinator of Government’s 4IR programme Ms 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 partly due to technological disruption and structural inequalities.
The pilot phase of the project aims to train and equip 1000 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. The 3D printing and software development streams were recently launched at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
Over and above the core technical skills to be acquired, this intake of 259 learners from Gauteng and Mpumalanga will now be exposed to work readiness programmes and entrepreneurship skills.
FIRtech has partnered with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies to deliver parts of the overall 4IR Skills Programme. With decades of experience, the company offers a unique blend of expertise that can help shape and implement all facets of a 4IR strategy. Other partners to the programme include 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. These programmes have the potential to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of unemployed youth by leveraging the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
Further reading:
Schneider Electric to become Official Energy Technology Partner of McLaren Racing
Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric will become the Official Energy Technology Partner of McLaren Racing.
Read more...
Closing the skills gap: how WearCheck training boosts asset reliability
Wearcheck
News
Condition monitoring specialist company, WearCheck is tackling the skills gap head on, offering a wide range of practical, hands-on courses that cover various topics related to condition monitoring and maintenance.
Read more...
Young SA scientists awarded medals at IRIS Global Symposium in India
News
Young local scientists have been awarded gold and silver medals at the recent Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM global symposium in India, where they displayed their scientific brilliance.
Read more...
60 day reduction in Kriel outage earns Eskom innovation award for Steinmüller Africa
News
Steinmüller Africa’s crane-free rigging solution has shortened the Kriel Unit 6 outage by 60 days, earning the company’s site team the 2025 Eskom Kriel Managers Award for innovation.
Read more...
Buyout model for solar investment
News
Sustainable Power Solutions has introduced a buyout model that converts existing solar and battery systems into immediate capital for South African businesses.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: A tool not a crutch
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
Every year, the dictionaries try to summarise a year of human behaviour with a single word, the word of the year. You can question the value of this, but it’s quite entertaining. Words are important,
...
Read more...
Timken funds Kids Haven STEM classroom
News
A bright new chapter in digital education has begun at Kids Haven with the official opening of a fully equipped STEM classroom at the Kids Haven Village. This exciting addition was generously donated by Timken South Africa and expertly installed by Breadline Africa.
Read more...
Technology trends that will and won’t shape 2026
News
A whitepaper by ABI Research shows that a clear trend is taking shape, and 2026 is set to be characterised by practical, outcome-driven change.
Read more...
RS South Africa shapes future engineering talent
RS South Africa
News
RS South Africa is demonstrating that nurturing future engineers goes beyond traditional classrooms or competitions. On STEM Day, the company shone a light on the full spectrum of its educational initiatives.
Read more...
ABB and Compu-Power bring high-efficiency UPS innovation to IS3 X-Change 2025
News
ABB recently participated in the 31st annual IS
3X-Change 2025 in Cape Town, alongside its long-standing channel partner Compu-Power.
Read more...
printer friendly version