Disadvantaged learners gain skills for 4th Industrial Revolution
ROSEBANK – Learners were prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution at a hackathon hosted by Future Azania in conjunction with Accenture.
Learners from Diepsloot, Olievenhoutbosch and Alexandra participated in a hackathon in celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day on 20 July hosted by Accenture in partnership with Future Azania in Rosebank.
Corporate citizenship, inclusion and diversity lead at Accenture Khethiwe Nkuna said the initiative was part of the company’s corporate citizenship programme, offering disadvantaged youth information and communications technology (ICT) skills to tackle the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We wanted to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela by hosting an event that is not only a fun and enjoyable day out for learners from disadvantaged communities, but also impart useful, practical skills in order to prepare them for the 4th Industrial Revolution and boost their employability,” said Nkuna.
The Mandela Day initiative formed part of an ongoing project where learners from age seven to 17 are taught CoderDojo (basic coding skills) running parallel to their curriculum.
The 45 learners split into six groups comprising of between seven and eight learners where they were tasked to build robotic hands and send and receive information using Morse code using their telegraph.
Nkuna said, “Tech is in everything we do today and it should not only be accessed by the privileged. Talents are widely dispersed but opportunities are not.”
Founder of Future Azania Lufuno Muthubi-Mthethwa explained that they partnered with this programme to commemorate Madiba’s legacy and take design and coding skills to the disadvantaged.
Grade 11 learner Desmond Mokou from Diepsloot said he became part of the bi-monthly programme two years ago and has learned about HTML, JavaScript and how to build websites.
“I’ve learned a lot through this programme. I was previously not interested in IT, but now if the opportunity comes, I will do it,” said Desmond.
Another Grade 11 learner from Diepsloot Peter Dube said, “I like using computers and getting access to advanced information. The teamwork and the chaos has been so much fun today.”
He added, “I want to become an IT specialist after school because it’s more interesting than other jobs. Through this programme, I have gained more experience in terms of technological skills and have been mentored by others who have been in those careers.”
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