First Innovation and Digital Skills Centre opens in Mthatha

From L-R: Premier Eastern Cape Provincial Government, Honourable Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane officially; The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Honourable Stella Ndabeni Abrahams (MP) and Craig van Rooyen, Chief Commercial Officer Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa

Through this initiative, communities close to the centres will be exposed to local learning and business opportunities. The IDSC is equipped with state-of-the-art classroom learning facilities with high-speed connectivity, helping positively impact the education system in the city.

As part of the learnerships, the courses on offer will include:

1. Microsoft Office Fundamentals: In this training course, learners will learn basic Word, Excel, and Outlook skills.
   
2. Introduction to Design Thinking: This course will introduce learners to the design thinking process and illustrate best practices for each step along the way.
   
3. Introduction to C#: This is part of a three-part course where learners will be taken through the fundamentals, object-oriented programming concepts and instruction on data structures and algorithms.
   

Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says, “A key aspect of economic development and growth is the ability to enhance competitiveness through skills and competencies that are on par with international markets. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies pro-actively developed the National Digital and Future Skills strategy to keep pace with the advancement of technology.”

According to Deon Geyser, chief executive officer Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa, “As we stand at the cusp of the 4IR, digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, robotics, 3D technologies and many more have become the means and solutions to many of the world’s problems. We believe that empowering the youth with the necessary technological skills will prepare them to thrive in today’s digital age and become part of the digital revolution. The opening of the centre is a realisation of our commitment to future-ready local communities, upskilling the youth and accelerating digital adoption among entrepreneurs based in the Eastern Cape.”