Techno Girl Trust employers SA youth to conquer unemployment

In an era of rapid technological advancements, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has the potential to reshape industries, economies, and societies.

To ensure that South African children are adequately prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 4IR, TechnoGirl Trust (TGT) drives a programme which emphasises the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.

Mahlatse Sithole, operations manager at TGT describes its Digital Skills programme as key to preparing youth for future careers, particularly introducing them to coding and robotics.

“The entire global economy is moving inexorably towards 4IR – but our ordinary communities and especially the youth are being bypassed by this movement. STEM subjects form the bedrock for nurturing innovative thinkers and problem solvers, facilitating children to develop critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and creativity, thereby cultivating a generation of innovators who will drive technological advancements and propel the nation’s progress in 4IR.”

“Through the Digital Skills programme, we are upskilling young people and inspiring them to become qualified technicians, systems developers or analysts for emerging careers in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, data science, biotechnology, and renewable energy,” says Sithole.

The programme commenced during the Covid-19 lockdown when this challenge was exacerbated by the absence of face-to-face teaching, and so TGT approached teachers with an online option to train digital skills, which is basic computer literacy starting at NQF level three with a broad introduction to coding and robotics. Thereafter they progress to NQF 4 and 5, where they can specialise in areas such as technical support or system software development.

“The first cohort has just completed NQF 3 and TGT has applied to take them on to NQF 4. Our objective is firstly to make the youth computer literate as a first base, and proceed to more advanced levels of specialisation whereby they could become employable in the ICT sector, and to advance their studies at college or university.” The programme (and the TGT model of education) is in the format of mentorship whereby they shadow experts in various companies for a period to give them exposure. It is open to both boys and girls, though about 90% are girls.

“In this manner, the youth receive an introduction to coding and robotics to acquire an understanding of what is involved in coding and robotics and the opportunities involved in ICT. Having these fundamental concepts in place facilitates their career choices when that time comes.

Sithole points out that the learners involved in the Digital Skills Programme have already matriculated and been unsuccessful in finding work through a lack of work-ready skills. For this reason, she says, the programme has garnered considerable enthusiasm among the youth. The target for the programme is youth who have already been through TGT’s workplace job-shadowing, but through lack of funding have been unable to further their education in a STEM subject. 

The Digital Skills programme involves four months of formal training followed by eight months wherein learners get placed into a workplace environment for practical experiences, where they have exposure to mentors. Thereafter they are certificated after the teacher assesses and accredits their workplace performance.

The first cohort has only recently completed the workplace experience for NQF 3, which remains a relatively basic level of basic computing for employers to consider retaining them. The hope is that as they advance to the more specialised NQF levels 4 and 5, employers will recognise their value and retain them.

One of the recent graduates, Kgotsofalo Baloyi, explains that having been through the TGT basic course she was unable to afford further education upon matriculation, and welcomed the call from TGT to enrol on its Digital Skills programme: “For one year I did robotics and coding, together with the job shadowing element. While the company I was placed with weren’t able to offer me a full-time job, I now have a qualification which enables me to apply for jobs. I am now able to develop websites for small businesses and am considering setting up my own business to do that.

While keenly awaiting to see what the future holds for her, Baloyi says she is continuing with the next module of the Digital Skills programme, in IT. “Without that course, I wouldn’t have had hope of getting a job.”  

ABOUT TECHNO GIRL TRUST

TechnoGirl is an innovative programme for girls and young women who show an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It was conceptualised in 2004 by founding partner Uweso Consulting in collaboration with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) and the South African Department of Basic Education.

TechnoGirl enables girls to experience STEM careers and ultimately, make more informed career choices.  Working closely with its strategic, funding and implementing partners, they ensured that to date, 15 019 girls have gone through the structured programme and, on average, 75% of the beneficiaries advance to register for STEM careers. TechnoGirl Trust has made a significant contribution to this growth by delivering large-scale impact.

TechnoGirl Trust endeavours to share the transformation burden with corporates by collaborating with them to develop girls who are better equipped for entry into STEM careers. This will lead to sustained employment opportunities and, in so doing, help break the cycle of poverty for the girls participating in the programme.