A sustainable solution to ICT skills development

Date: 27 October 2003	Issue: 27 October (Computing S.A.)
Category: Top Stories

Despite significant growth in the ICT industry in the Western Cape, BEE companies are not growing at the same rate as white-owned companies.
This emerged from the findings of a recent census into the ICT industry in the Western Cape. A key reason for the lag in growth in BEE companies is the pressing skills shortage in the ICT industry, which has also made it difficult for organisations to meet their employment equity targets.
The Cape Information Technology Initiative (CITI), a not-for-profit promotion agency for the Western Cape, says there is a strong need for greater facilitation of skills development, to create the necessary structures for effective transformation of the industry.
One such effort is CITI’s support for the Paracon Learnership Programme, a recently launched industry-driven initiative that aims to place newly qualified ICT graduates in suitably matched jobs, while reducing the risks faced by organisations.
The programme evolved out of the Paracon Trainee Development Programme, a social responsibility initiative, which has since been adapted to incorporate the objectives of the ISETT Seta, in terms of the demographics of targeted learners.
Paracon director, Qayyum Parker, explains, “The local ICT industry is under increasing pressure, in the form of greater competition from globalisation, the urgent need to meet employment equity targets and to develop skills to close the skills gap. Further obstacles to skills development include the high cost of training learners, and the risk involved if learners fail to meet training objectives or leave the country once training is completed.”
The Paracon Learnership Programme actively targets previously disadvantaged communities to identify learners who have already completed a tertiary qualification in any ICT-specific field, and are motivated to pursue a career in a suitably matched company.
The pilot programme currently supports two intakes of ten learners a year. Learners selected for the programme are given a six-month internship, to gain experience, after which they work an additional six months for the company as a salaried employee (without a formal employment contract). Should the company wish to offer a learner full employment, following this six-month period, a formal employment process takes place. Companies may also, during the course of the internship, change learners if they find the person to be ill-matched to the requirements of the company.
“When undertaking a project of this nature, where there is no immediate bottom-line benefit, there is a need to seek out partners who really share your vision. In support of CITI’s objectives, Paracon joined CITI in January 2003. Paracon has been fortunate in that the Learnership Programme directly supports these objectives. CITI has been extremely helpful, and the established relationships that it has with local ICT companies and the ISETT Seta afforded Paracon the opportunity to be heard by the right people. By building more such partnerships Paracon believes it can achieve its aim of introducing more skilled individuals to the industry, and contributing to the upliftment of individuals and the country as a whole,” Parker adds.
CITI marketing manager, Judith Middleton, notes, “The concept of matching the needs of both learner and company in furthering the development of skills, is a welcome departure from the tired model of quick-fix skills development programmes, which often lack substance. CITI fully endorses the Paracon Learnership Programme as a direct means to facilitate BEE employment in a most cost- and labour-effective manner.”