By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa
Africa stands to turn it's development fortunes around if it can fully utilize the opportunities presented to it by global giants.
An example of this, is that of an initiative by Microsoft which aims to engage youth to drive sustainable African economic growth and development.
Microsoft YouthSpark is a global initiative to create economic opportunities for 300 million youth over the next three years.
In early in 2013, it Microsoft announced that unemployment remains rife on the African continent. With almost 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 in Africa today, the youth community represents more than 60 per cent of the continent’s total population and accounts for 45 per cent of its growing labour force.
However, the imbalance between the demands of the labour market and the supply of appropriately skilled workers in Africa is reaching its breaking point. In light of this, Microsoft Corp. announced its ongoing commitment to driving opportunities for African youth through its YouthSpark initiative.
Microsoft YouthSpark is a global initiative that aims to create opportunities for 300 million youth in more than 100 countries during the next three years. This company wide initiative includes Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and other company programs — both new and enhanced — empowering youth to imagine and realise their full potential by connecting them with greater opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship.
In 2013, Djam Bakhshandegi, CSI Program Manager at Microsoft in Africa said, “It is a sad reality that while young Africans are more literate than their parents, more of them remain unemployed,” Bakhshandegi adds.“ At the core of our YouthSpark and other CSI activities is our belief that relevant innovation holds the key to unlocking the answers to our most pressing challenges in the region. Through YouthSpark, in sub-Saharan Africa alone, we have already reached over half a million young people and made $1.1 million worth of software donations to non-Government-organisations. In addition we have trained almost 30,000 teachers through our Partners In Learning tools as well as equipping hundreds of small & medium businesses with relevant start up skills.”
Further revealed is that as part of its broader strategy, Microsoft views Africa as a critical investment market. Its flagship African investment and growth drive, 4Afrika, which YouthSpark falls under on the African continent, was launched in February 2013. Through 4Afrika, Microsoft will actively engage in Africa’s economic development to improve its global competitiveness.
And by 2016, the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative plans to help place tens of millions of smart devices in the hands of African youth, bring 1 million African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) online, up-skill 100,000 members of Africa’s existing workforce, and help an additional 100,000 recent graduates develop skills for employability, 75 percent of which Microsoft will help place in jobs.
Also, “YouthSpark forms part of this 4Afrika vision and through YouthSpark, we are paying specific attention to the next generation of our ecosystem through our work with schools, students, start-ups and the developer community to drive skills and ICT integration which will in turn trigger growth,” says Bakhshandegi. “Through our partnerships with governments, non-profit organizations and businesses, Microsoft YouthSpark aims to empower youth to imagine and realize their full potential.”
In addition, Microsoft YouthSpark goes beyond philanthropy and brings together a range of global programs that empower young people with access to technology and a better education and inspire young people to imagine the opportunities they have to realise their potential.
These include Office 365 for education, free technology tools for all teachers and students to power learning and collaboration. And Skype in the classroom, a free global community for teachers to connect their students with others around the world.
Other YouthSpark initiatives include, Partners in Learning Network, an online professional development platform for government officials, school leaders and educators to help them with new approaches to teaching and learning, using technology to help students develop 21st century skills.
Microsoft IT Academy, a career-ready education program available to all accredited academic institutions, providing students with 21st century technology.
DreamSpark, free access to Microsoft designer and developer tools for students and educators, helping advance key technical skills during the high school and college years, a critical time in a student’s development.
Imagine Cup, the world’s premier youth technology competition, which challenges students to apply their knowledge and passion to develop technical solutions for social impact, to develop engaging games, and to demonstrate innovation that can benefit others, local communities and the world.
Students to Business, a program that matches university students with jobs or internships in the technology industry.
BizSpark, a software startup program, providing young entrepreneurs with access to Microsoft software development tools and connections with key industry players, including investors, to help them start a new business.
Employability Portals, an all-inclusive platform that links users – who wish to plan their career, get career advisory, acquire training, build their capacity, apply for jobs and internships – with customized resources, counselors, mentors and jobs.
Another example is Microsoft’s Build Your Business programme, a comprehensive and inter-active training course designed to support aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs.
David Arkless, Manpower Group’s President of Corporate and Government Affairs, says, “Start-ups and small businesses are the backbone of Africa’s economy, and this learning course will encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to take the leap to set up a business venture. We are committed to helping new small businesses get off the ground and provide them with the skills to deal with the rigors of competition and day-to-day business tasks.”
“We are committed to using our technology, talent, time and money to help create sustainable growth across the African continent,” says Bakhshandegi. “Microsoft YouthSpark is not just about enhancing young people’s digital skills. Rather it is about helping young people having a more balanced set of skills that is required in today’s very competitive work environment.”
In December of 2015, Livity Africa announced a collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation for the development of a programme designed to train and up-skill 48,000 South African youths in digital skills.
The programme, Digify Bytes, is currently being delivered by South African-based youth agency, publisher and academy Livity Africa, with additional support from Google South Africa, the British Council and British High Commission.
According to Livity Africa, Digify Bytes is an extension of the three month Digify ZA programme, which was launched by Livity Africa in 2014 in partnership with Google South Africa and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
"In an effort to expand its reach, Digify Bytes was created as a two day training workshop aimed at giving thousands of young learners and job seekers a short, sharp shot of digital marketing skills.
Delivered by young digital professionals, the programme is designed to introduce the fundamentals of digital marketing tools, strategies and platforms to young people who can utilise them for self-branding, industry preparedness, employability and digital literacy.
The collaboration is part of the Rockefeller Foundation's Digital Jobs Africa initiative, launched in May 2013 with a goal to impact one million lives Africa through job creation and skills development for youth who would otherwise have limited access to employment," Livity adds.
Gavin Weale, founder and managing director at Livity Africa commented, "We are excited to partner with the Rockefeller Foundation on this groundbreaking initiative," said Weale, "As the digital industry continues to grow, the demand for young talent to feed the industry will only increase. Through Digify Bytes, we hope to showcase the wide range of opportunities that exist once a young person is empowered with digital skills. Once they have that, the sky is the limit."
Digify Bytes workshops are offered for free to universities, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, training institutions and youth organisations.
To-date, workshops have taken place at several institutions in Gauteng, ranging from Sedibeng College, the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship and Sparrow Schools.
Workshops kicked off in the Western Cape in the second quarter of this years.
Michelline Ntiru, associate director at the Rockefeller Foundation Africa regional office adds, "The Rockefeller Foundation is pleased to support Livity Africa with the delivery of Digify Bytes," said Ntiru, "They have found great success through their core Digify ZA programme over the past year and given their expertise in the youth market, we have no doubt that this programme will contribute significantly to improving the lives of young disadvantaged South Africans as they take steps to enter the workforce."
Meanwhile, in April of this year Google announced its commitment to train one million young Africans in digital skills in the next year.
Google said, "In realising this commitment, Google is supporting our partner Livity Africa to run two training programs: ‘Digify Bytes’ to give digital skills to young people looking to develop a digital career; and ‘Digify Pro’, a 3-month immersion program for digital specialists."
These programs have already launched in Nigeria, Kenya & South Africa. They will be scaled to reach more people in the next 12 months. A group of 65 volunteer Googlers from around the world are helping the Livity team with content development, ‘training the trainers’ and, in some cases, delivering the training sessions, " added Google.
Additionally, "the announcement saw the launch of 'digital africa', this is an online-learning portal that will house a range of digital skills courses, available to anyone in Africa, an yes, for free.
The courses are designed to be as “light” as possible so they don’t eat up valuable data. There are nine training courses already available and Google aims to have 50 available by July."
Luke McKend Country Director, South Africa remarked, “The internet is at the heart of economic growth and the Digital Skills Program is aimed at helping more Africans play a part in the digital economy. Everyone can succeed online, start a new business, grow their existing one, or share their passion.”
Another positive initiative that seeks to empower more Africans is 'ReadytoWork'.
And following the successful roll-out of 'ReadytoWork' in six African countries, Absa, part of the Barclays Africa Group, launched the employability initiative in December 2015.
This programme is aimed at helping to train and equip young people for the world of work, in South Africa.
The ReadytoWork initiative is currently operating in Zambia, Seychelles, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.
As a report states, "After receiving support from the MEC of Education in Gauteng, the curriculum is now available in some schools across the province, with further schools to follow in Limpopo and Free State.
One of the key focus areas for Barclays Africa is Education and Skills Development, primarily to help the next generation get the skills and opportunities they need to transition into work or entrepreneurship."
On the programme, "ReadytoWork is a free training curriculum that seeks to empower young people with the training and skills they need to enhance their employability and entrepreneurial prospects. It provides access to world class learning content, focused on work, people, money and entrepreneurial skills, through online content, face-to-face training and work exposure.
ReadytoWork aims to support job seekers and entrepreneurs who have the aptitude, attitude, and ambition to achieve beyond the opportunities that have been given to them. The ultimate goal is to give young people a choice to either better develop their employability prospects or to become self-employed through starting their own businesses"
Sazini Mojapelo, Barclays Africa Head of Citizenship says: "A key priority of our Citizenship strategy is to help young people gain access to the skills and opportunities they need to unlock their potential. We have identified education and skills development as a space in which it can make a sustainable contribution through initiatives such as ReadytoWork. Our launch here comes at an opportune time, helping young people across the country who have completed their exams to prepare for the next phase in their lives - the world of work."
According to Statistics South Africa, "In South Africa, more than 30%* of young people are unemployed and under-employed, highlighting how critical it is that young people are provided with the practical skills they need to successfully make the critical transition from education to the world of work."
Remarkably, the Internationally acclaimed Steve JobsSchool, have recently been recognised as the ‘Most Innovative Schools in the World’ by US-based TechInsider magazine.
This is why it is incredible to see that two Steve JobsSchools were launched in South Africa and Africa on 23 June 2016.
They are known for embracing the latest technologies in education and learning.
The Steve JobsSchool model is based on every child having an independent learning plan (ILP), centred on their own way of learning, their strengths and choices. The school is available 24/7 and the learning plan, educational programmes and educational apps are accessed from the learners' smart devices and supported by special workshops, experiments and projects at school.
The concept is based on the drivers of choice, collaboration and challenge, coupled with innovative technologies to develop personalised learning.
In addition, the Steve JobsSchool are geared to equip learners with the skills they’ll need for 2025 and beyond that.
