RESKILLING, UPSKILLING + TRAINING
I n the internships and training space of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Prudence Mabitsela has established Dynamic DNA as a leading training and skills development company. Dynamic DNA strives to empower Africa’s new ICT generation by facilitating employment for more youth in ICT businesses which, it believes, can propel Africa into the future, bridge the skills deficit in our workforce, close the gender divide, and help reduce unemployment. Mabitsela, the 26-year-old founder and Managing Director, focuses particularly on empowering young women in ICT and shares three ways companies can participate in this opportunity. Learnerships The challenge in learnerships is twofold: firstly, companies have to deal with the administrative challenges associated with SETA applications, learnership hiring, management of the learner, training, reporting, administration, document records, auditing and the successful absorption or place- ment of the learner. For companies, employing young, highly skilled individ- uals means hiring employees with the necessary skills to add value to their businesses and improving their B-BBEE score, gaining tax rebates, and importantly, transitioning sustainably into the digital economy. “Our role as facilitators of these learnerships benefits both parties. For companies we handle the full suite skills development solution from hiring, to the SETA administration, reporting, mentoring, training, and placement – alleviating the burden of learnerships which is often an inhibitor to the process,” says Mabitsela. “Secondly, a challenge we hear businesses often face when it comes to employing young team members is that the education they have received is incomplete in terms of soft skills, such as communication and etiquette, to properly equip them to be productive members of a team. “On the other hand, there are ambitious, technically qualified, young workers who – due to inexperience – are unable to get a start in the industry.” Dynamic DNA’s learnership programme offers young learners the chance to pursue a career in the ICT sector, with a particular focus on upskilling and facilitating workplace placement for its graduates. In addition to providing technical skills, the company focuses on practical and soft skills such as communication skills, work etiquette, time management, presentation skills, and other elements essential to creating fulfilling careers. Dynamic DNA graduates can build innovative solutions across multiple technologies. They learn the skills to design and build agile applications in a complex business environment, making them a valuable asset to the workforce. The next ICT generation
4IR4Her Mabitsela is leading from the front in empowering women in ICT through the 4IR4HER movement. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution – 4IR – with its rapid changes in technologies, industries, and societal patterns due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation, can be seen as a democratising force. It opens the space to provide women with the opportunity to compete in the knowledge economy. However, this can only happen if adequate attention is given to existing gender divisions
Prudence Mabitsela, founder and MD of Dynamic DNA.
and equal opportunities are made available,” she says. The non-profit 4IR4Her brings together young women and women in technology and presents 4IR tech opportunities in streams like Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity, enabling young women to equip themselves with key skills for the future. Currently there are 15 women in the programme. “A crucial part of the learning journey is to be paired up with an entrepreneur who is successful in the tech or business space, to learn the key lessons you can never be taught from a book: how to manoeuvre through your day as a businesswoman, how to diversify revenue streams if you are self-employed, what do you do when you see risks in your business, what contingency plans you need and so on.” Pay your device forward In another initiative, with the shift in education to hybridised digital learning and training, Dynamic DNA, in partnership with COMETSA Friends & Supporters Club (NPO) and Kaya FM, launched a campaign to enable learners from disadvantaged communities to access online training. The campaign calls to individuals and corporates to ‘Pay Your Device Forward’ and donate new/old devices such as laptops, smartphones, WiFi routers and tablets to enable continuous skills development for disadvantaged youth. “ICT skills are among the scarce skills, greatly needed to build our economy. Businesses and the ICT sector can help drive youth employment through technology skills training if they choose to do so,” Mabitsela says.
For more information visit: www.dynamicdna.co.za
MARCH 2022 Electricity + Control
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