SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

MTN’s Schools connectivity programme has, over the years, donated over 300 multimedia centres across South African schools.

Are we ready for 4IR?

TREVOR CRIGHTON fi nds out just how prepared our next generation is for the challenges and opportunities of new technology

“B efore we talk about how our young people are being prepared for a digital world, we have to discuss the key areas in which we need to prepare ourselves if we are to thrive as a country in this digital world,” says Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, University of Johannesburg vice chancellor and principal.

He identifi es the fi ve key areas as: skills, infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, corporate and research incentives and the technology itself. “We need to examine whether all these elements are optimised to help us thrive in a world increasingly driven by technology,” he says. “It comes down to training, development, will, funding and capacity”. Professor Marwala says within South Africa, there are pockets of excellence where people are implementing 4IR technology to the highest global standards. Still, a vast swathe of the population is completely excluded from participating. “COVID-19 has thrust many of us into the heart of a 4IR world, and we need to close the gap for people who haven’t had the privilege of being able to take advantage of the quantum leaps we’ve taken,” he says.

Telecommunications companies such as MTN are also working on fostering digital inclusion, through the MTN SA Foundation. “We know that while South Africa has made notable strides in broadening access to telecommunications and technology, the country continues to be characterised by a deep digital divide,” says Jacqui O’Sullivan, executive for corporate affairs at MTN South Africa.

“This perpetuates unequal access to opportunities, making it harder for historically disadvantaged youth to benefi t from employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. While young people are often considered ‘digital natives’, the majority don’t possess suffi cient digital skills required for them to succeed in the workforce”.

Zero to hero

MTN have zero-rated access to enable e-learning with the Siyavula Foundation, over 1 000 educational, public benefi ts websites and e-learning resources for all grades and subjects and opened access to vital online learning materials for South Africa’s Grade 10-12 students.

In the tertiary space, through the Department of Higher Education and Training, MTN has zero-rated public universities and 20 TVET zero-rated public universities and 20 TVET

DID YOU KNOW?

Non-profi t organisation, Sakhikamva Foundation has helped Silverlea Primary school pupils and teachers in Athlone in the Western Cape become the fi rst in South Africa to launch a 4th Industrial Revolution (4iR) STREAM laboratory. STREAM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Aeronautics and Mathematics) education enables children to enjoy hands-on experience with the new technologies such as drones, 3D printing, robotics and artifi cial intelligence.

colleges websites and MTN Business has partnered with Unisa to provide students with data and fi nancially supported the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in setting up studios to conduct virtual classes.

“In collaboration with MTN Business, MTN Pulse launched the Youth Best App Category for the MTN Business App of the Year Awards,” says O’Sullivan. “Young people get an opportunity to enrol and acquire app development skills through the MTN Business App Academy, where they then get an opportunity to turn an innovative idea into an app and then compete in the awards. There they stand a chance of winning prize money to help them kick-start their business”.

Bringing it home

Marwala says that South Africa’s status as the continent’s most industrialised country has placed us near the top of the technology pile – but we still lag in some areas. “There are countries like Rwanda, where they’re using drones to deliver essential medical supplies – and we’re not there yet. Globally, though, we’re far behind, which tells you how underdeveloped we are as a continent. That won’t change unless we’re able to equip young people to explore and study what’s being done globally by investing in human capacity, and then having them bring their knowledge home”.

He says that bridging the divide between those who are digitally literate and those who aren’t is vital. “We must appreciate that even operating software such as Zoom daily – which many of us now use requires a certain level of skill, never mind the technology and online access. Illiteracy is still about learning to read and write – but digital illiteracy is about to be our next big education problem in the country. “It’s vital that both the youth and adults have digital literacy as part of any education so that everyone can face a 4IR world confi dently”.