Empowering its previously disadvantaged citizens is vital to South Africa’s economy. Promoting B-BBEE skills development is an essential step in this process. After decades of minority rule, we now enjoy an environment where everyone is entitled to play a part in determining the nation’s future.
However, entitlement is one thing; possessing the necessary skills is another story. The skills gap remains the most significant obstacle between us and achieving our economic goals. In 2003, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Strategy was introduced into law as a means to hasten the transformation process.
One of its strategies was to devise a series of incentives to encourage the support of employers and other established stakeholders. They are allocated points on a scorecard in exchange for adopting policies and actions designed to level the playing field. The B-BBEE points are awarded according to the perceived impact of the participant’s contribution, and the allocation for promoting vocational training is among the highest.
B-BBEE Skills Development Essential to Fix IT Shortfalls
Although steam power and electricity were responsible for successive industrial revolutions, their impact was relatively limited compared to the widespread disruptive effects following the birth of digital electronics and the information age. The applications for this versatile technology appear almost infinite and have infiltrated practically every facet of our daily lives and led to the growth of a massive new industry.
Today, countries like India and China have built brand-new and lucrative economies founded on information technology and now exceed the achievements of Silicon Valley. Today, the IT industry has become a primary driver of economic growth, underlining an urgent need to encourage and fund software development learnership in South Africa.
The Impact of Code Series 300 on B-BBEE Skills Development
Statement 300 of the B-BBEE codes of good practice discusses the metrics of skill development and their use. However, it also states that investing in sectoral training for the sole purpose of meeting specified non-negotiable job requirements is not a skills-development contribution. By contrast, a software development learnership can create untold opportunities for personal growth and open up diverse potential career paths. For example:
- Web Developer: No business can hope to retain its foothold in today’s market without an online presence. Consequently, qualified web developers are in constant demand. In just six weeks, a short course in Java programming could open previously closed doors to transform the life of an unemployed township youth forever and earn the sponsor some valuable business benefits in exchange. A further 12 months of sponsored study could lead to a lucrative post as a full-stack developer.
- Systems Support: It could take no more than a month for a few young people to gain sufficient knowledge of data management, cloud security, and networking to launch their IT careers when given a CompTIA A+ learnership opportunity.
There are many other ways to facilitate an accredited software development learnership that can benefit companies through B-BBEE compliance while uplifting youth, meeting South Africa’s IT industry’s shortfalls, and promoting economic growth. Geeks4Learning is an accredited IT training academy. We invite you to contact us for more details on how you can grow your business by sponsoring B-BBEE skills development.
