Microsoft partners with SAtion to improve the skills of young SA

Microsoft collaborated with a digital skills development company SAtion create a youth-focused digital skills hub to reduce unemployment and strengthen connectivity in South Africa.

This as the last Stats SA Quarterly Labor Force Survey shows record unemployment figures in South Africa, with 74.7% of young people (aged 15-24) in South Africa being unemployed.

The online platform of the partnership – the SAtion digital skills center – invest in the socio-economic progress of the country by providing young South Africans between the ages of eight and 24 with free access to Microsoft Office 365, free digital literacy resources and Microsoft cloud company Resources.

Launched on June 14, SAtion aims to bring together actors from the private and public sectors – including government, large companies, SMEs, industrialists, private investors and educational institutions – to discuss, coordinate and implement the plans of the fourth industrial revolution.

In this way, the initiative will ensure that public policy makers and private sector entities work together for rapid and sustainable economic growth in the context of the 21st century, rather than working against each other, according to the organization.

“President Ramaphosa’s belief that the youth of SA will be at the center of our economic recovery has never been truer – and the stakes have never been higher,” said Adam Craker, CEO of IQbusiness and Enabling Partner of SAtion.

“Our determination to ensure a competitive digital future for our young people and our unemployed has prompted us to enter into this vital partnership. “

The digital skills hub, according to the companies, will host three initiatives – the Global Skills Initiative, Mahala and Cloud Society – each offering different opportunities for young people, the unemployed, SMEs, all South Africans and government officials to acquire digital skills. In this way, South Africans will be able to operate more efficiently and competitively in the digital world.

“The digital economy creates the perfect opportunity for job creation,” says Lillian Barnard, CEO of Microsoft South Africa.

“It also stimulates innovation, stimulates economic growth and supports long-term competitiveness. However, building the digital skills needed to cope with the changing landscape cannot be delivered by a single entity. Partnerships are essential to accelerate digital transformation and, more importantly, to unlock vital development and retraining initiatives.

Last year Microsoft the Global Skills Initiative, a program that the tech giant says has already enabled more than 30 million people worldwide to acquire digital skills for the digital economy.

In South Africa, through the digital skills hub, the initiative will enable a minimum of 50,000 unemployed and disadvantaged people to acquire digital skills and certification for jobs in demand, for example in customer services. , IT support, software development and graphic design.

South Africans wishing to start their digital development journey with SAtion and Microsoft can visit the digital skills hub website to enroll in the program that best meets their needs.