IT INDUSTRY FACING SKILLS SHORTAGE

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IT industry facing skills shortage
04 June 2007 at 04h00

South Africa's IT industry is facing a huge skills shortage and unless radical changes are implemented in its resourcing strategy, the industry will soon be left high and dry, says Rudi Jansen, chief executive of Internet service provider, MWeb. Addressing the skills shortage crisis in the IT industry is the most critical challenge the industry faces, he says. "We are competing for a scarce pool of resources," said Jansen. "Many IT companies cannot afford to compete at the same level as big corporations such as the banks and cellular providers when it comes to financial benefits, which means skilled staff are even harder to come by.

"Traditionally, many companies see learnerships as a corporate social investment (CSI) initiative - almost a donation towards skills development," says Jansen. "For us, it's a strategic imperative, and part of our creation of a pool of resources. It's a feeder scheme for many of our strategic areas. "We have approximately 80 people in learnerships throughout the business in 2007, and we would like to double this over the next year, as the sector continues to demand highly skilled people." As part of MWeb's learnership programme, participants get classroom theory and workplace experience.

To apply, or for more information on the Mweb learnership programme, or a career with MWeb, e-mail mweblearning@ mweb.com