The level of information technology (IT) skills in organisations and the IT ecosystem must catch up with the level of development to ensure that technologies are effective and help people to perform their functions, says IT multinational IBM Southern Africa COO Ziaad Suleman.

Advanced technologies, such as blockchain, cloud, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI), have been developed to address various needs and new use cases, enabling organisations to leapfrog to new technologies; however, skilled people are needed to operationalise them and provide the expected value.

Enabling digital transformation requires that all organisations within an ecosystem develop the right skills to meet their customer and partner requirements, he adds.

“Our corporate responsibility, like that of all companies, is to ensure that, in the digital transformation era, everyone is working in harmony. IBM is doing this in several areas, including the Open P-Tech, P-Tech, SkillsBuild, Ignite and Digital Nation Africa initiatives, which are exciting initiatives to train African youth and working professionals in IT skills.

“IT skills development in schools and enterprises is exciting because it culminates in another objective, which is to ensure that the entire population is trained for the new digitally transformed era. This is important because it will enable economies to flourish and, if inclusive and broad, will help to narrow the digital divide and aid the development of nations.”

With a sufficiently broad presence of digital-era skills, the benefits of technology can be more readily extended to all sectors of an economy to ensure that economic activities become more efficient and operate optimally.

For example, subsistence farmers can be assisted in using technology to improve their output, whether through information and alerts for decision support or the broader use of connected devices and systems to support operations.

“Technology intersects with all areas of societies, industries and commerce, and some technologies and associated skills need to be fast-tracked. New skills need to be developed to promote growth on the continent and curb the ever-widening unemployment gap.”

Suleman notes that broad-based education and training programmes benefit recipients, businesses and society and, importantly, support inclusive growth, ultimately helping to ensure that the fiscus is well protected.

Engagement and collaboration among businesses, academic institutions, industry and government in various forums are important to improve their mutual understanding of skills development and the anticipated requirements, as well as to ensure that not only the skills of the youth but also those of the population are improved, he says.

“The Covid-19 crisis marks a point of no return for how technology is used in education and training. Online learning resources and content need to be more relevant, interactive andeasy to use.”

Organisations must work with schools and universities, including for on-the-job-training, as each has a key role to play, while curricula benefit from these liaisons because they are adapted to needs and demands for skills.

The focus on digital skills education initiatives creates a platform for IBM to equip youth and educators with key knowledge of important technology areas, such as cloud, intelligent systems and cybersecurity, as well as providing additional skills that will be required in the workplace, including collaboration and soft skills to work with clients and colleagues.

“We will not solve unemployment until we can match skills supply to demand,” says Suleman.

Additionally, IBM has reached out to non-profit and non-governmental organisations to make them aware of its training and skills development initiatives and resources.

“Holistic education for free is important because we live in a divided society. This is similarly true of the world. “If we open up access to education and ensure that the digital divide is narrowed, we can ensure that people have equal opportunity to learn relevant skills and have a decent shot at employment, and fulfilling professional careers.”

This collaborative education and training model responds to the greatest needs of South Africa, namely bridging the gap between education and job training in the required digital skills, and the labour market where there are plenty of jobs for people equipped with these skills.