A handful of young people from Duncan Village and poor areas around Buffalo City Metro have graduated from a city initiative which saw them qualify for national certificates in information technology systems.
BCM mayor Xola Pakati confirmed that the 25 youths would be employed by the municipality.
In keeping with BCM’s vision for a smart city, “the graduates will be absorbed by the metro at the end of the month where they will be managing our ICT intelligence lab, surveillance cameras throughout the metro and other ICT work.
“A few will be employed as technicians.”
The group successfully completed the NQF Level 5 learnership programme over the twelve months from March 3 2017 to February 28 this year.
BCM head of ICT Jongikhaya Stuurman said his department had worked through the metro’s supply chain management processes to procure the training services of the Academy of Training and Development.
The academy was asked to work in accordance with the metro’s ICT learnership programme.
“The ICT department has been working towards contributing to the community by creating development opportunities for the youth through the programme, which is aimed at ensuring they are well capacitated to increase their employability opportunities,” said Stuurman.
Pakati said: “This event is crucial because it marks one of the key points in our programme of skilling our youth and ensuring their future career prospects are secured. It’s also at the core of our programme of rolling back the frontiers of poverty in our metro and beyond.
“Despite a recent decrease in our unemployment rate as a city, the figures remain high and it is for this reason this learnership is important for us.
“StatsSA indicates that our unemployment rate has decreased by 5.1%.
“This means our official unemployment rate has decreased from 34.1% to 29%,” he said.
Pakati said the city had seen significant improvements in the expanded definition of unemployment, which had decreased to 33.7%.
“Whilst these numbers are high, the decreases show work in progress. We are taking major steps as a city with the sole intention of ensuring that our economy is properly industrialised so that it can create the necessary jobs,” he said.
Timoti and Fundiswa Rayi, the parents of graduate Simbulele, 28, from Gompo said they were grateful for the education opportunity afforded to their child by the municipality.
“We are extremely proud of him having acquired yet another qualification, and we are excited to know that they will be absorbed and employed by the municipality, which will improve our living conditions,” they said.
Buffalo Flats resident Rowan Marillier, 23, said the national certificate was another feather in his cap.
“I got a diploma in IT from Damelin, but with the lack of employment opportunities, I jumped at the opportunity to be part of the learnership. I’m very excited to have been a part of the programme.”
Stuurman said while some of the graduates had already acquired qualifications others had not.
“It is sad to have discovered that most of those who were new to the game of studying were among the eight that dropped out during the programme.” — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
BCM’s 25 new IT experts
BCM mayor Xola Pakati confirmed that the 25 youths would be employed by the municipality.
In keeping with BCM’s vision for a smart city, “the graduates will be absorbed by the metro at the end of the month where they will be managing our ICT intelligence lab, surveillance cameras throughout the metro and other ICT work.
“A few will be employed as technicians.”
The group successfully completed the NQF Level 5 learnership programme over the twelve months from March 3 2017 to February 28 this year.
BCM head of ICT Jongikhaya Stuurman said his department had worked through the metro’s supply chain management processes to procure the training services of the Academy of Training and Development.
The academy was asked to work in accordance with the metro’s ICT learnership programme.
“The ICT department has been working towards contributing to the community by creating development opportunities for the youth through the programme, which is aimed at ensuring they are well capacitated to increase their employability opportunities,” said Stuurman.
Pakati said: “This event is crucial because it marks one of the key points in our programme of skilling our youth and ensuring their future career prospects are secured. It’s also at the core of our programme of rolling back the frontiers of poverty in our metro and beyond.
“Despite a recent decrease in our unemployment rate as a city, the figures remain high and it is for this reason this learnership is important for us.
“StatsSA indicates that our unemployment rate has decreased by 5.1%.
“This means our official unemployment rate has decreased from 34.1% to 29%,” he said.
Pakati said the city had seen significant improvements in the expanded definition of unemployment, which had decreased to 33.7%.
“Whilst these numbers are high, the decreases show work in progress. We are taking major steps as a city with the sole intention of ensuring that our economy is properly industrialised so that it can create the necessary jobs,” he said.
Timoti and Fundiswa Rayi, the parents of graduate Simbulele, 28, from Gompo said they were grateful for the education opportunity afforded to their child by the municipality.
“We are extremely proud of him having acquired yet another qualification, and we are excited to know that they will be absorbed and employed by the municipality, which will improve our living conditions,” they said.
Buffalo Flats resident Rowan Marillier, 23, said the national certificate was another feather in his cap.
“I got a diploma in IT from Damelin, but with the lack of employment opportunities, I jumped at the opportunity to be part of the learnership. I’m very excited to have been a part of the programme.”
Stuurman said while some of the graduates had already acquired qualifications others had not.
“It is sad to have discovered that most of those who were new to the game of studying were among the eight that dropped out during the programme.” — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
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