A free online vocational training platform to help young South Africans build skills to find or create jobs, has recently been launched. Created in response to the high rate of youth unemployment in South Africa and the continent, the platform will focus on empowerment through educating and training young people.

The inauguration of Trace Academia in South Africa was formally announced in the presence of French Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Elisabeth Moreno and South African partners. A  protocol of cooperation was also signed between Trace, Senghor University in Egypt, and Agence Française de Développement, or AFD, to create a training programme to develop and support the professionalisation of the creative and cultural sector in Africa.
  
Trace Academia explains that its courses are created in collaboration with leading companies, institutions and experts to ensure that the skills provided are well matched to market needs. It further emphasises that the localised, interactive and entertaining course format keeps learners’ attention and significantly improves course completion rates.

Primarily targeting young South Africans in its inaugural year, the platform will launch with several locally produced training courses including Get Started with Digital Marketing (Grow with Google), How to Become a DJ (Trace), Spark your Interest in Electricity (Schneider Electric), Become a Successful Entrepreneur (Valued Citizens and University of Johannesburg), Become a Real Handyman (Leroy Merlin) and Own Your Situation (Durex). Trace Academia will take the learner through the journey towards skills acquisition.

The Trace Academia platform will offer:

• Vocational training
• Entrepreneurial courses
• Soft Skill and well-being courses
• Social learning features
• Job information
• Additional features include:
• Learning engagement - Engaging content keeps the learners’ attention and maximises completion
• Testing and certification - Courses certified by industry leaders providing credibility and applicability
• Employment opportunities - Learners are connected to employment enablers

The company aims to develop hundreds of courses to help empower young people to become employable or become employers and aims to train over 25-million youth by 2025.

The Trace Academia application can be downloaded on the Apple App store and Google Play Store.