Business Digital Services

Drivers

The unemployment rate in South Africa is at an all-time high, with youth unemployment posing a major challenge. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 45.3% of youth (aged 15-34 years) were unemployed (Statistics South Africa, 2023).

Efforts to address this problem have not yielded any major breakthrough and the problem seems to be multiplying faster than solutions can be developed. In part the crisis relates to the poor capitalisation of latent potential among young people. As the global demand for new age digital skills grows at an accelerated rate across industries, South Africa MUST rapidly develop internationally competitive skills in order to get a fair share of this global demand. This is the most sustainable way of creating jobs and empowering the youth to create sustainable value.

Solution

Empower youth of Sasol fence-line communities with applied 4IR skills in order to compete globally, create scalable start-ups, build sustainable digital SMMEs that are relevant to their community, and secure employment where they can make a valuable contribution and transformative impact.

The Business Digital Services programme considers the need to focus on technical skills as well as core or soft skills required to develop a well-rounded digital entrepreneur and/or professional. Sasol’s fence-line communities can develop local digital capabilities that can compete globally while advancing the economic interests of the local community.

Overview

Intended Beneficiaries

• 60 Beneficiaries.
• Matriculants interested in acquiring skills in robotics/ coding/ data science/drone piloting.
• Graduates interested in acquiring skills in robotics/ coding/ data science/ drone piloting.
• Strong background in mathematics.
• Strong critical thinking capabilities as well as a developed learning agility.

Opportunities for Employment or Business

Everyday more activities of human life depend on technology. These advanced technologies need to be built, integrated and managed by highly skilled individuals who understand the underlying technical aspects as well as the interface of human needs. Data generated from these modern technologies has also become a valuable commodity for business to compete and differentiate. Today some of the most highly sort-after professionals are: