The City of Johannesburg (COJ) has joined forces with the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA).
The partnership, cemented by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week, will see the COJ and the local ICT industry body work together to create an environment conducive to ICT sector and digital skills development across the city.
It was spearheaded by the COJ’s Department of Economic Development, and aligned to its vision of positioning the city as a “leading location in the development, growth and promotion of the ICT ecosystem”.
The IITPSA will support the COJ to raise awareness of the city as a smart investment destination; support learning and working from home initiatives, particularly excluded communities; and offer advice and support on ICT sector skills strategies.
“It is always beneficial to collaborate with strategic knowledge-generation partners such as the IITPSA to leverage their intellectual capital and expertise to enhance service delivery in the city,” states Nkululeko Mbundu, MMC for economic development.
“We are excited about this partnership, as it will bring much-needed digital skills across the city, and support our priority to make Joburg a smart and business-friendly city.”
The city’s past and present leaders have been vocal about transforming the metropolitan into a smart city.
On a provincial level, Gauteng premier David Makhura has on a number of occasions expressed his desire for the province to become a hub of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) skills and a centre of excellence for digital economy breakthroughs.
As such, the Gauteng Provincial Government last year unveiled its 4IR Growth and Digitalisation Strategy, which seeks to provide fully-digital public services to citizens and position the province as the “Silicon Valley of Africa”.
The strategy is spearheaded by the Gauteng Department of e-Government and the 4IR advisory panel – a 15-member panel appointed by Makhura, to support government in ensuring citizens access modern government services.
IITPSA president Admire Gwanzura salutes the city’s 4IR vision, noting the IITPSA is ready to support the COJ’s smart city and skills development initiatives. “Skills development, in particular, is a core value of the IITPSA, and we look forward to supporting the city in upskilling the next generation of IT professionals.”
For Thabo Mashegoane, immediate past president and non-executive director of the IITPSA, the signing of the MOU marked the IITPSA’s first formal agreement with the city. “It’s a significant moment, and marks the start of closer collaboration, and what we hope will be a long and productive relationship.”
Last March, Mashegoane revealed the organisation had increased the scope of its ICT-focused initiatives, adding it had earmarked millions of rands dedicated to boosting SA’s ICT sector.
As SA’s ICT professional body, the organisation committed up to 50% of its annual income to foster its multiple initiatives and programmes, to help enhance the sector.
Established in 1957 under the name Computer Society South Africa, the IITPSA plays an important role in accreditations, skills development and assessments for the sector, and serves as a voice for the IT industry, as well as a networking platform to ensure a high level of practice among ICT professionals.
Its ICT programmes include the Women in IT Chapter; the annual ICT Skills Survey, carried out in partnership with Wits University’s Joburg Centre for Software Engineering; and the Computer Olympiad, which it bills as the oldest youth IT skills development programme globally.
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