Technology giant Samsung has relocated and revived one of its engineering academies to expand its reach to train and develop technicians, technologists and engineers through accredited courses.

The relocation of one of the company’s six engineering academies from Boksburg to Midrand will enable Samsung to reach matriculants, college students and unemployed youth beyond its initial focus on Ekurhuleni and onto the greater Johannesburg area.

“This is another step towards securing the future of the youth marginalised by poverty. We are here to help give the next generation power – the power to seize control of their own futures,” Samsung Africa CEO and president Sung Yoon said at the relaunch in August.

Accredited through the Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT Seta), students are taken through an intensive technical training course, followed by a month of in-service training.

Once this is completed, the young graduates are taught about client service before being deployed to Samsung service centres.

MICT Seta acting CEO Charlton Philiso says that the Samsung Academy augments and supports the ambitions of technical and vocational education and training colleges in churning out skilled youth.

The Samsung Academy, established in 2011, equips unemployed matriculants from low-income areas with critical technical and engineering skills for the electronics job market.

“Our graduates have all entered the workplace with essential electronic engineering skills, allowing them to support themselves and make a positive impact on their families and communities,” says Samsung South Africa innovation group and corporate affairs director Hlubi Shivanda.

The six academies, that matriculants with mathematics and science on higher grade, between the ages of 18 to 25, can apply to are the Samsung Academy, in Midrand; the Refrigeration and Aircon Academy, at EEC KwaThema College; Tshwane North College, in Hammanskraal; Orbit College, in Mogwase; Gert Sibande College, in Standerton; and KwaMashu Coastal College, in KwaMashu.