Higher education, science and innovation minister Dr Blade Nzimande says organisations must take a keen look into the list of occupations in high demand, especially those that relate to the ICT sector.
Nzimande was delivering a keynote address during the virtual launch of the South African Mobile Devices Distributors and Repairers Association (SAMDDRA).
The science and innovation minister pointed out the list identifies about 345 occupations that are in high demand.
“These occupations are at both the high-end of the skills as well as intermediate skills levels. Many of these occupations on the list can be associated with key areas and sectors, also identified as crucial by government’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan, including skills in the digital and for the digital economy. We are also short of data scientists, Web developers and computer network technicians and electrical engineers, just to mention a few.
“In launching the list, I called upon our TVET colleges, universities, SETAs and private education and training institutions to use the list to inform their curriculum development and selection of programme offerings.”
As a result, Nzimande said it is important that SAMDDRA establish a relationship with institutions in the higher education, science and innovation sector.
“This will ensure SAMDDRA is a better position to support its prospective membership, to get practical skills, training certification and accreditation of companies, especially the SMEs.
“This intervention will ensure SAMDDRA participates in the realisation…of a skills development strategy and innovation strategy.”
Officially unveiled yesterday, SAMDDRA is an industry organisation for the repair and distribution of electronic communication devices.
It is established through the ICT SMME Chamber, with the aim to provide the electronic communication devices industry with a professional body that will be a reference system, and a trusted and useful system for individuals, employers and the public.
MD Mark Mpasa says SAMDDRA is entering this space as a non-regulatory professional body, whose members are compelled to offer the highest standards of support and repair services to the public.
He adds the association will also establish a support call centre for reporting good and bad service.
“We have received acknowledgment from a number of industry stakeholders like MICT SETA, Mobicel, Procel and some government entities in order to align both the required level of training, expertise and industry knowledge and components, thus galvanising the required skills, experience and resources that will drive the change into the industry in SA.”
According to other board member Mpho Machaka, SAMDDRA has been in the making since April 2020.
Machaka explained that at its start, SAMDDRA is a partnership for SMME development and growth, with the focus on repairs and distribution. However, in future, it will be looking at the manufacturing of electronic communication devices.
“Our vision is to become the leading international industry organisation for the repair and distribution of electronic communication devices, not only in SA, but on the African continent. Such a body is non-existent at this point in time, and we have seen a gap that we can fill perfectly in terms of helping the growth of our economy going forward.”
Machaka added: “Our mission is to create growth opportunities for individuals, companies and institutions through specialised education, continuous development and structured professional recognition programmes to benefit local, regional and international economies towards sustainable development goals.
“In addition, the association and its membership will participate in building skills, enabling the acquisition of experience, connecting companies for business interests and transactions, including original equipment manufacturers, and educating its membership and the public.”
During the launch, SAMDDRA board member Loyiso Tyira explained that the birth of SAMDDRA is not just about IT or cellphones, it’s about socio-economic issues.
It’s commonly known that the penetration of mobile devices has grown exponentially in the past 20-odd years. When people have a problem with their smartphones…the repair and maintenance of these devices becomes more important, and there lies in the opportunity to deal with some of the socio-economic issues that we have.
“As the industry grows, there grows an opportunity to also deal with job issues, economic growth, etc.”
According to Tyira, there is also an intention by SAMDDRA to form a manufacturing part of these mobile devices once the critical mass of skills through SAMDDRA has been built.
“We thought that there is a need to have an industry body that will lobby government and other government institutions to guide the industry and make sure it benefits South Africans, it can create jobs, it can ensure there are enough skills in the industry – not to just fix devices in a professional manner but to also create enough skills to move into manufacturing these devices locally or some of the parts locally.”
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