There is a huge mismatch between the ICT training programmes offered by
service providers, what youth need to be employable or self-employed, and what the job market requires.
"This mismatch between supply and demand suggests that most of the training provided in the ICT sector has a limited impact on the employability of young people and does not seem to be adequately equipping youth with the type of skills that might lead them on to becoming entrepreneurs or even
employable," the study says.
The Youth Development Trust, a civil society organisation that promotes skills development and employment among young people, conducted the
study in the belief that it is "essential to interrogate the assumption that the ICT sector is the solution to [the] ever-increasing problem [of
unemployment]".
The study was funded by the International Development Research Centre, a Canadian public corporation that assists developing countries in using
science and technology to address social, economic and environmental problems..
The study also finds that:
The overwhelming majority of ICT trainees and graduates would leave the country if they could;
Service providers say they are making a significant contribution to the employability of their trainees - but most lack effective monitoring
systems to track their graduates; The ICT training market is dominated by multinational IT companies such as Microsoft; service providers do little to adapt courses for local needs;
and trainees have little or no influence on the whole process..
"There has been a focus and drive by the government and other
stakeholders on [ICT] and the creation of small, medium and macro enterprises to address
the critical levels of unemployment in South Africa," the study observes..
There is especially high youth unemployment: 46% of youth under 35 years old, of whom about three-quarters have secondary school education only,
are unemployed..
But "there is still a great disparity between the courses offered, the
graduates produced and the actual job market". Most training providers "do not invest in job market surveys or in tracking of graduated students"..
As a result, "many ICT courses do not have a significant impact on job
creation". The study interviewed and surveyed 235 ICT trainees, 61 graduates and 31
service providers (both public and private), among others, in seven provinces. The majority of the trainees interviewed were under 24, and
almost all were African, coloured or Indian..
There are significant barriers to access to training, including the
concentration of ICT in urban areas. Also, cost is often prohibitive. This means that, for many black youths, "to obtain adequate resources for
training is a struggle, which often involves sacrifice for the individual youth, the family or the community"..
"The great travesty is the mismatch between their needs and expectations and what service providers offer," the study says..
It is clear, the study concludes, "that the regulatory system for
quality assurance needs to exert stronger control on the ICT training sector". Respondents "expressed general dissatisfaction with the sectoral education and training authorities"..
And youth organisations "could encourage and mobilise the youth to change their attitudes from being passive to questioning consumers".
Meanwhile, the flow of IT professionals out of the country is slowing, according to an ITWeb survey released this week. The survey's
respondents were mostly white males, Thursday's Business Report said. Two years ago
26% of respondents were "very likely" to leave the country; this year, only 5% said they had plans to leave within the next 12 months.By: David Macfarlane
