As Mpilo Technologies, a Rosebank-based software development and digital solutions company, approaches its ninth anniversary, it has announced an ambitious plan to create 10 000 jobs in four years.
This is according to Alok Goswami, the newly-appointed Mpilo Technologies chief information officer, who tells ITWeb TV in an interview that the company hopes to play a key role in reducing unemployment in South Africa by imparting technology skills to previously disadvantaged communities.
This comes at a time when the government and business sector in South Africa agree that in order to solve the scourge of unemployment, particularly among the country's youth, projects that provide employment opportunities, enhance digital skills, and digital capacity must be prioritised.
“We have a vision of creating 10 000 jobs within the next couple of years (2028) in South Africa, and we are already executing that strategy. In my view, there is a very strong need to develop customised training and confidence development programmes that people on the ground can afford,” says Goswami.
Explaining how the company will create these jobs, Goswami says: “We are an emerging and growing company and we intend to do that through securing additional projects from our clients; expanding the base of existing clients; diversifying in new areas of technologies; and service delivery.
“All of that is part of our strategy, and hopefully as we expand, scale up, we will then be be able to fulfil that growth with jobs that we will offer to South African community.”
Turning to ways South Africa can tech sector can address growing talent crunch in the industry, Goswami says: “Introduction of more fit-for-purpose skills development programmes that the wider community can take, not these big two- or four-year programmes, that are often too prohibitive from a cost perspective.
“In my view, there is a very strong need to develop tailored, customised, training and confidence development programmes that people who are on the ground can afford. In terms of cost and effort, these programmes should be designed in such a way that they are targeted for certain domains and sectors in IT industry.
He continues: “ So let’s say you have a two-month programme on data management. As an example, it will be a starting point of equipping these individuals who like to grow in that space with these kind of programmes.
“Once people get trained, they can actually go on that growth path step by step. So, those training confidence development programmes, which are customised, tailored versions of bigger programmes are needed in my opinion.
“The second is collaboration between industry and academic institutions needs to be strengthened and be better. We need to work on opportunities for people who are graduating or matriculating, and look at what structured programmes can be introduced, how we can embrace the young graduates and matriculants into our environments and put firm programmes on that.
“Lots of companies are doing that but I think there is a need to strengthen this to make it more like a national programme.”
For Mpilo Technologies, the company has since partnered with HCL and its VoltMX platform, and says they observed the success of their Unearthing Greatness in Unexpected Places Programme, which has resulted in the integration of citizen developers within their tech community.
“Under the Unearthing Greatness in Unexpected Places Programme, Mpilo Technologies identifies and empowers young individuals who exhibit hunger and drive to transform their lives. The programme focuses on imparting essential technological skills and subsequently providing employment opportunities,” says the company.
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