Developing young people for a connected world

Mail & Guardian

4 days ago

Every year for almost twenty years now, the Mail & Guardian has selected 200 top young South Africans and featured their stories of resilience, hope and perseverance, and creative and innovative thinking. By all accounts, getting down to just 200 is an arduous task, as there are many exceptional entries.
What this tells us is that South Africa has no shortage of young talent, but for every featured successful young South African in these pages, there are many more who, while not without talent, lack the opportunity, skills and tools
that they need to participate in today's connected world and competitive job market. Africa is an extremely young continent, and it would be a travesty if our ambitious, tech savvy young people were not only unable to participate in the economy of our continent but were denied the opportunity to have a voice in shaping its future.
In a world increasingly shaped by technology, connectivity is no longer a luxury, it is the key to opportunity. For young people and for their futures, access to connectivity can mark the difference between realising their potential sometime in the future, or never at all.
Telkom recognises the importance of developing young people for a connected world with digital literacy skills that equip them for an economy that is transforming rapidly, with new technologies including AI, the IoT, robotics and soon, quantum computing. Through our various programmes and initiatives, Telkom's business units, subsidiaries and its Foundation are working to ensure that every young person in South Africa is able to create or find a job opportunity for themselves after school in this shifting technological landscape.
From urban classrooms to rural communities, Telkom's programmes ensure students aren't just connected but that
they are empowered to face their future. The Telkom Foundation has introduced a three-year coding and robotics programme into schools in Mpumalanga and the Free State, and our first graduation ceremonies took place during Youth Month in June. We have also fitted out computer labs and are facilitating teacher training to ensure that
these subjects are included in the schools' everyday curriculum and are not just part of a holiday programme.
In Limpopo, the Telkom Foundation and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies launched a new ICT Lab earlier this year, featuring 40 new workstations, 10 laptops, and new-generation digital connectivity – a direct intervention to support digital upskilling for these school learners. There are now over 900 ICT Labs built across the country since 2010. We do this in collaboration with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies.
This initiative forms part of our national vision to ensure that South African youth have access to the tools and training they need to thrive, just like their peers in other countries, where technology is being used to create jobs, drive
innovation, and improve everyday life.
The growing demand for digital skills is driving the expansion of digital learning hubs like TelkomLearn, which attracted more than 4 000 users in the first quarter of this year alone. Its accessibility, through no-cost courses, and
user-friendly design, makes it a compelling choice for those seeking critical digital skills through independent learning.
The future won't wait and neither should our youth, and that is why Telkom is nurturing talent from a young age, embedding opportunity within education. Our sponsorships and partnerships with schools, universities and technical
colleges help create ecosystems where young minds can thrive.
All of our programmes are designed with inclusivity at their heart such as spotlighting young women in STEM and supporting learners in underserved communities. Every time we connect a school or home to the internet, we connect a learner to their future in which they are not just consuming technology, they are able to help build and shape it – technology fit for African and global purpose.
Telkom continues to invest in young people by investing in what they need to thrive – access to connectivity, education, infrastructure, and to people that can assist them on their journey.
In today's world, possibility travels at the speed of connection. That's why at Telkom we believe that it's not enough to build networks, we must build futures for our young people in a rapidly evolving and technical world.