Vodacom and Cisco commit to empower young people through technology

12 May 2017 - 17:28 By Staff writer
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Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub
Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub
Image: Supplied

BRAND VOICE | This year’s theme for the 2017 Cisco Networking Academy Instructor Conference held at Vodacom World in Midrand was “There’s Never Been a Better Time to Build the Digital Workforce”.

Fittingly, the Vodacom Foundation has again committed to train unemployed young people across the country in information and communication technology (ICT) to nurture digital skills and help propel Africa into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Speaking at the official opening of the conference, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said: "The new evolution today is digitalisation. Our noble ambition is to be a leading digital company that contributes to transforming the government's programmes such as health, education, municipal services, and safety and security.

“We want to be at the cutting edge of technology, and being part of Vodafone affords us this privilege. As part of our digital strategy, we are already using big data to personalise the experience of our customers. We invest around R8.7-billion per annum on our network in South Africa to support our mobile operations and Internet of Things connectivity.

“Our noble ambition requires that we also digitalise the company internally by providing agile systems and reskilling our employees. Artificial intelligence and robotics are a reality that is upon us.

What does all this mean for South Africans? Vodacom’s resolve is to move together with communities, not to leave them behind. The company continues to empower the youth and teachers with ICT skills because, if teachers are not empowered, how are they expected to share knowledge effectively? Vodacom’s partnership with the government; small, medium-sized and micro-enterprises in the ICT sector; and big companies such as Cisco and Microsoft continues to be valuable in the social development programmes.

Joosub wished the participants a highly effective conference and invited them to visit some of Vodacom’s high-technology facilities.

Cisco has been hosting the Cisco Networking Academy Instructor Conference for the past 20 years. The conference hosts more than 180 delegates and serves to upskill instructors in new technology and market trends.

All instructors, institutions and academies were also recognised for their performance during an awards evening on May 9, the first day of the conference.

In 2013, the Vodacom Foundation, in partnership with Cisco, launched the Vodacom Youth Academy to empower unemployed young people with ICT skills.

The skills training programme seeks to equip the unemployed youths with relevant ICT skills to help install IT equipment and provide instruction in high-end computer skills. As part of the initiative, the participants received skills training in A+, N+ and 3G connectivity, CCNA and IT security.

For the financial year ended March 31 this year, a total of 367 youths across the country received much-needed training and gained work experience at government institutions.

Following the training, some of the youths will be able to support the network of schools connected via the Vodacom Mobile Education programme; resell Vodacom products; and develop mobile applications.

Since the inception of the Vodacom Academy programme in 2013, the Vodacom Foundation has trained a total of 972 unemployed young people across the country.

– TimesLIVE in association with the Vodacom Foundation

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