SA ICT skills lagging

This isn't only a problem in the ICT field, most students coming into any higher education are struggling because of lower standards in high school maths and physics.
 
Educational Institutions

Skills are a result of education, the minister needs to visit Tertiary institutions and start solving the problem there, hand in hand with Cde Blade.
 
Step 1: Admit that there is a problem.

I love the way the article suddenly became a Telkom PR stunt.
Very sneaky.
@telkom : :mad:
 
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mmsimanga said:
Skills are a result of education, the minister needs to visit Tertiary institutions and start solving the problem there, hand in hand with Cde Blade.
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It should rather start early in primary school and then build on the knowledge the further one goes, the earlier the better. but ya, we all know what happened with helping getting all the schools computer equipped and online.

and now telkom is using it as a pr stint, but they are part of the problem :(
 
maybe they just don't have the skills?
 
1. Companies need to improve their offers for ICT.. ever noticed how many people do bcom's these days? Its basically a well oiled turnstile faculty at most university and the really amazing thing about it is.. these guys whine about doing 1/3 of the university pure maths.
2. Companies need to require university degree's more. Maybe they should form an alliance with universities and push some new standards incorporating more technical skills(like ecsa + others does for ebe). There is little motivation to complete a degree when your jock buddy can coast through highschool, do a diploma and start gaining invaluable experience way before you even graduate.
3. Telkom.. Low internet penetration means that being good on a pc is a geeky ambition for the few.

Basically if you ask high school kids what they want to be when they grow up, engineering and csc is pretty low on the list of things as they all know its tough to study and the rewards are pretty minimal
 
I was talking to a couple of teachers and lecturers the other day.
They told me that a recent study placed South Africa last on the list of maths/science in the whole world..!!

Basically our matric math equals st. 6 or even lower compared to other countries and the SA government is trying to keep this report out of the public eye...

Can anyone confirm this as these were VERY reliable sources...:confused:
 
I keep hearing about the lack of skills, but it seems like most employers are overly ambitious in their requirements as if there is no shortage. So which one is it?
 
"The reason for the low number of students taking ICT courses, he said, could partly be attributed to the lack of information on employment opportunities and the perception that ICT courses are difficult."

A major contributing factor is the crippling cost of internet connectivity. If you can't really get online, you can't be inspired. Plus, if you're as tragically limited as we are, you can't truly access the, eg, screencasts, videos, tutorials, etc, that are abundant online.
 
My son is in the IT field, and this resulted directly from my involvement in electronics/computers/internet. The initial exposure needs to be there.
 
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Where are all these employment opportunities that are being referred to?
Is it in the private sector, or in government?
 
This guy must stop stating the obvious. We have heared this same old tune over and over again. For once cant they come up with solutions??? Yslik!
 
Shortage of skills........not

If there was such a shortage of skills you would think that it would not be too difficult for someone with more that 35 years experience to get an IT job.......I wonder if his skin colour has anything to do with it?
 
krycor said:
2. Companies need to require university degree's more. Maybe they should form an alliance with universities and push some new standards incorporating more technical skills(like ecsa + others does for ebe).
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I have to disagree with this. While for certain IT career paths degrees is a must, companies also need to start realizing that for many IT positions qualifications work differently. I have seen too many job openings posted wherein a company is looking for a sys admin with a Bcom degree and nothing else. They need to realise that, with degrees in IT being what they are, your average person with an IT degree is unlikely to choose that career path.

Companies need to recognize that IT is an extremely broad field and there is not one "cover-all" degree or certification. You want a sys admin? Look for someone with an MCSE or CCNA. Just a regular techie? A+, N+, etc. Employers must have a basic understanding of what it is they want in an IT employee and what qualifications or certifications cover that, rather than making the assumption that an IT degree covers absolutely everything.
 
stockton said:
If there was such a shortage of skills you would think that it would not be too difficult for someone with more that 35 years experience to get an IT job.......I wonder if his skin colour has anything to do with it?
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I have to agree with this. I've been unemployed for the last 6 months and the last five companies I have applied to have all responded in a similar vein:

"You are well-qualified, but we are looking for someone more BEE-compliant"

I kid you not. I have been told that I am not "BEE-compliant" enough for the last 5 positions for which I have applied.
 
Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda concerned at low number of students taking ICT courses
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They are all looking to become politicians inside the ANC so that they too can buy a couple of 7-Series BMWs. ICT is not the career you take when you gotta get some of those.
 
HDC said:
I was talking to a couple of teachers and lecturers the other day.
They told me that a recent study placed South Africa last on the list of maths/science in the whole world..!!

Basically our matric math equals st. 6 or even lower compared to other countries and the SA government is trying to keep this report out of the public eye...

Can anyone confirm this as these were VERY reliable sources...:confused:
Click to expand...

I agree, Maths and Science in SA has taken a backseat, which is concerning, cause what it means that more foreigners will needed to be brought in for the engineering and science related jobs.
Quite a shame...
 
Kasyx said:
I have to agree with this. I've been unemployed for the last 6 months and the last five companies I have applied to have all responded in a similar vein:

"You are well-qualified, but we are looking for someone more BEE-compliant"

I kid you not. I have been told that I am not "BEE-compliant" enough for the last 5 positions for which I have applied.
Click to expand...

Yup, so yes, no shortage in my opinion, just the wrong colour.
I am in ICT and very qualified too, yet I have NOT been offered a permanent position since 2001, I am not BEE. I am a white male, the most currently disadvantaged group you can get in SA today.
What companies do now though, to get around BEE BS, is hire me as an independant contractor, which I'm not, cause SARS sees me as a regular employee, so i get screwed on tax aswell.
Some companies I've worked for cant even have me on their payroll, because I'm too white and too male. So I have to go via a labour broker, which SARS also hates. So ya, talk about working yourself into a hole. But take heart just keep looking and put your CV on the net, there are open-minded companies that will hire.
Being a white male in SA is becoming increasingly difficult to earn a living...honestly, but there will also be a loop hole or a workaround and thats how I've been securing work for the passed ten years now. Just gotten used to it!
 
This woman is retarded. True story: the head of department of my faculty had a meeting with her not long ago, and she asked him why they are turning out less IT graduates this year. His response was they they are receiving no money from government, and that the NRF scholarships which usually fund postgraduate (honours, msc, phd) were not "available" this year, as funds have been diverted to the world cup bid. She looked back at him angrily, as if he was lying, and she turned to one of her minions who had the financial figures. And after a while she turned back to the prof with a different expression an said "You're right prof. We haven't given you any funding this year".

Scarce skills funding is down from around R15 million to R0 the last time I checked. It might be different for next year.
 
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