This is hailed as a vote of confidence in the potential of the nation’s youth and a positive long-term step in helping secure South Africa’s place in an increasingly digital global economy.

The 2024 Digital Skills for Digital Jobs programme will offer 100 selected, unemployed candidates from each of the nine provinces the opportunity to participate in the 12-month accredited programme.

“Digital literacy and skills are rapidly becoming regarded as fundamental skills in the workplace,” said Arthur Mukhuvha, General Manager of the MTN Foundation.

He said this need was reflected by the foundation receiving 1 737 applications nationwide in 2023 for the Digital Skills for Digital Jobs programme.

Of these applicants, 900 (100 from each province) were selected.

Of this intake, 674 completed the programme and more than 60 percent of the graduates were women.

This year, MTN received 5 330 applications.

Through the Digital Skills for Digital Jobs initiative, the 900 students of this year will be provided training that includes artificial intelligence, basic end-computing, coding and robotics.

The training courses offered by the MTN Foundation in partnership with the EBL Institute and Datacomb Development Hub are designed to be inclusive. They are open to unemployed men and women who are not enrolled in formal education or training programmes.

The offering includes courses ranging from the fundamentals of strategy, the Internet of Things (IoT), data and big data, cyber security, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to designing e-commerce websites and the Protection of Personal Information Act requirements.

Structured to also offer opportunities for those with entrepreneurial instincts, the programme includes modules on various facets of establishing a business, life skills, career, and personal development.

Provincial launches took place in the previous month at venues in the Northwest Province, the Northern Cape, KZN, Free State, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape.

Graduation ceremonies will be hosted in six of the nine provinces where programme graduates will receive their SETA-accredited certificates.

“As a leading tech-based company, we regard it as our duty to encourage interest in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, which are essential for South Africa to take its rightful place on the international business stage,” added Mukhuvha.