To address Africa’s digital skills gap, MTN Group, through some of its operating companies, is partnering with SAS Training, Courses & Classes to train up to 100 young people in data analytics
This is part of the MTN Skills Academy’s work to promote digital skills for digital jobs, in turn supporting MTN Group’s strategic intent of providing digital solutions for Africa’s progress.
Polaris Market Research puts the 2021 value of the global data science platform market at US$95bn and expects it to expand at a compound annual growth rate of more than 27% through to 2030, driven by the increasing data volumes being generated by organisations.
“For Africa to realise its full potential, we need to address the lack of skills funding,” said MTN Group senior vice president for markets, Ebenezer Asante, adding that eight MTN operating companies had assigned learners to participate in the training that the Group is providing through its partnership with SAS.
“Africa has the largest and fastest-growing youth population in the world. While this holds tremendous development promise, youth unemployment statistics remain a cause for major concern. It is only by investing in developing the right skills that we are going to overcome this challenge,” he continued.
The training initiative consists of a six-week programme, the first part of which is self-paced and the second containing live instructor-led courses.
“During this programme, all participants will have full access to SAS Skill Builder for Students, which includes a repository of resources to help participants learn SAS Data Science skills; from free online courses for certification purposes to exam preparation materials, and practical case studies where participants can learn more about how SAS software solutions are used in the industries they're interested in and for their career advancement,” said Adesh Nathalal, education manager at SAS in South Africa.
After the initial six-week programme, half the participants will undergo further training with MTN’s in-house data analytics academy.
