race
Lynda Loxton
SOUTH AFRICA risks falling behind in the information technology (IT) race if it fails to step up the training and education of IT users and practitioners, according to a new study.
University of Cape Townacademics James Hodge and Jonathan Miller say in the latest issue of the university’s Trade and Industry Monitor that although the situation is not yet chronic, there is a shortage of skilled IT professionals and a generally low level of computer literacy in South Africa.
“Estimates are that there are in the region of five IT professionals per 1 000 of the workforce and a computer literacy rate of under 10%,” they said.
The calibre of IT people available is high but they are mainly white and male. Something must be done to redress this situation.
The 1994 Central Statistical Services manpower survey showed that 69% of IT professionals were male and 82% were white. But affirmative action may not be that successful in the IT field, say the authors.
“There is a lack of a significant IT presence in historically black schools, within black households and at historically black universities.”
This limited exposure, combined with poor background education in maths and sciences, will act as a constraint on the number of black graduates going into the field.
“Affirmative action will, however, be effective for black graduates with an adequate educational background because a high proportion of skills are accumulated in the workplace, either through training courses or on-the-job learning.”
But this would still exclude blue-collar workers and the unemployed.
“Abdicating state responsibility and leaving it to the market will maintain the status quo,” say Hodge and Miller.
They believe the best long-term approach would be to introduce IT in all public schools.
And, while expensive, there are several innovative schemes already in existence thanks to public-private sector participation.
“The exposure of pupils to IT at an early age will provide the foundation and confidence to enter the profession,” they say.
Funds should also be targeted towards the establishment of quality IT departments in the historically black education institutions.
The continual upgrading of IT skills could also be encouraged through the labour department’s proposed training levy while standards could be maintained through the emerging national qualifications framework.