Electricity and Control September 2021

RESKILLING, UPSKILLING + TRAINING

International cooperation and technology in training youth It is widely known that South Africa faces a problem of youth unemployment. Zanelle Dalglish, Director Sustainable Development & Academy, Anglophone Africa Cluster at Schneider Electric, looks at the numbers – and the possibilities of implementing online learning, with international accreditation, to train young people and set them on a path to employment.

E ven before 2020, when the pandemic hit, South Africa had an unemployment rate of over 50% among youth in the 15 to 24 years age group. According to the International Labour Organisation this has been the case since 2010. Figures from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) show that it rose to 59% in the first quarter of 2020. Today, Stats SA data indicates that we’re looking at a percentage of 74%. We risk losing a generation of young people, of people who are full of hope and optimism, who cannot find any work despite their best efforts and inten- tions. We believe there must be a better way of training and upskilling the country’s young people. For over a decade Schneider Electric has provided practical training in elec- tricity as well as community training which focuses on solar energy as an alternative and green energy source and en- courages the safe use of electricity in communities. We have done some good. But we have to be smarter if we’re going to reach a greater number of people to make a difference in reducing the country’s unemployment num- bers. There are options. The first is technology. Most people have mobile phones, or access to them. And increasingly people are using their phones not just to access the inter- net, but to learn online too. Education facilities and training institutions need to har- ness this capacity to reach everyone, to make learning more cost-effective and easier to access. Schneider Electric has partnered with online learning company Trace Academia which was founded by Trace TV and focuses specifically on digital learning. The internet now gives us the reach to educate tens of thousands of young people on the basics of electricity. And learning can be undertaken at any time of the day or night – through short, ‘snackable’ content. Courses can be easily updated, through updates to the application, and material can be tailored to specific regions. Trace Academia has set a target of training more than 25 million people by 2025, many of whom will be looking to find their first jobs. There’s another pillar of learning to consider, and that is international cooperation. This is crucial for two reasons. The first is to ensure that whatever is taught is up to date, and secondly, the curriculum must be accepted and reputable. The French Skills Label is an example. This was launched by the French Minister of Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Minister Elisabeth Moreno, during the French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to South Africa in May. It is a collaboration between the French South African

Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FSACCI) and the French Embassy of South Africa; the embassy issues the French Skills Label for certified training courses of large French groups present in South Africa. The French Skills Label highlights what French companies are doing in terms of internal and external training for South Africans. The label is associated with training courses already certified by the training departments of French companies and focuses on the development of youth in South Africa. Schneider Electric is part of the first cohort of six companies to be awarded the French Skills Label, and in total this group has helped to upskill over 24 900 South Africans through over 650 000 hours of training given during 2019 and 2020. Combining these two ideas of online learning and international accreditation would open up the possibilities of training many more young people and setting them on a path to employment. By rethinking how we offer learning to millions of young South Africans, we can transform the economy and give the youth, with skills, a better chance of finding a job. The pandemic has made us think differently about many issues. Let’s reimagine what is possible by redesigning how we educate young people – to enable and promote employability and/or entrepreneurship.

Zanelle Dalglish, Schneider Electric.

For more information visit: www.se.com

Skills training for youth is critical to improving employment levels.

Electricity + Control SEPTEMBER 2021

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