e-Skills Academy opens

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 23 Nov 2007

Oracle and a black empowerment partner consortium have opened the e-Skills Academy, in Sandton, to help address the skills shortage in the ICT industry.

Chief executive officer-designate Dan Ellappa says the state-of-the-art technology facility will initially cater for 250 students, the first of whom will sit for class on 21 January.

"Enrolments have started and we are having our first open day tomorrow," says Ellappa. "Our Web site has been up about two weeks and had 4 500 hits in the first week."

Ellappa adds that the academy was born out of the Presidential International Advisory Council on Information Society and Development, held in August. Oracle, he says, proposed the academy as a way to consolidate its various skills initiatives.

"You are looking at a facility that is top-notch in terms of its infrastructure and cutting-edge in terms of technology. Students will be exposed to the latest of the latest of technology and applications.

"We are small enough to be big enough to make that kind of fast change. We do that through our curriculum, which will result in qualifications that are industry-led and change as industry requirements change."

Ellappa adds that the academy is not in competition with the universities "or anyone else", but will help individuals find skills that will land them employment. Companies will benefit too.

"We are selling learning solutions rather than off-the-shelf courses, solutions that integrate with the individual`s personal development plan. When you invest so much in people, what mechanisms do you have in place to retain your people? We can help with a retention programme," says the former Oracle executive.

Philosophy and pedantics

"We are not training for the sake of training, but for a particular end: to make a person employable and earn a salary and add value to the bottom line of any organisation as quickly as possible," says Ellappa of the e-Skills Academy`s training approach.

"That`s what it is about. If you want to know what the difference is between me and anyone else, that is it. I`m not competing with universities. I`m saying to organisations if you want a competent, capable individual, in the shortest space of time, come to us.

"It`s all about job profiling, it is not about attending a course for its own sake. It`s about getting a person trained and developed in the shortest space of time so that they can perform a particular job or function.

"I`m not talking about a philosophy of education and I`m not talking about the pedantics of higher level thinking skills - although that is encompassed in the way we will deliver the training."

Facilities

Ellappa says the academy will cater for both full-time and working students, and has partnered with First National Bank to provide eligible learners student loans. Oracle has also undertaken to subsidise some of the academy`s training.

Seven full-time faculty members, assisted by part-time lecturers, will offer day and evening classes in just-completed classrooms. The academy boasts a 120-seat auditorium, one 40-seater class, 10 20-seaters and four 10-seaters.

Oracle holds a 40% stake in the for-profit venture, with senior managers holding 15%, and an empowerment consortium the remainder. Ellappa says he has been in talks with a number of other vendors to ensure a responsive, technology and applications agnostic training house.

"I`ve spoken to Dell, Cisco, HP, Microsoft and SAP. We have Microsoft aboard; they`ve really embraced this initiative," says Ellappa. "We have intent with all the other organisations I`ve just listed. We`ve not signed anything yet, but look forward to doing so."