Oracle Graduate Leadership Programme – 22 students graduate from class of 2017 to join ICT sector
Twenty-two previously disadvantaged (PDI) South African students today kick started their career in the country’s fast growing ICT industry following the completion of the fourth edition of Oracle’s Graduate Leadership Programme that focuses on equipping PDI students with specialised IT and leadership skills.
“Attracting and retaining candidates with requisite ICT skills is an on-going industry wide challenge; the ICT skills shortage continues to constrain the country’s capability to increase economic growth and job creation. It is through programmes and initiatives such as this that we are able to address the growing skills gap within the local market,” said Stefan Diedericks, Alliance and Channel Director, Oracle South Africa.
“In his 2018 State of the Nation address, president Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa’s prosperity as a nation depends on the country’s ability to take full advantage of rapid technological change and that capabilities in the areas of science, technology and innovation should be developed as a matter of urgency. In line with government’s objective to drive skills development and create job opportunities, the Oracle Graduate Leadership Programme focuses on PDI students who have fully or partially completed a university degree. Spread over a period of one year, the programme is based on a blended learning approach, combining classroom training with e-learning and structured on-the-job training. Oracle South Africa sponsors the full cost of training for all programme participants,” concluded Diedericks.
Launched in 2014, the Oracle Graduate Leadership Programme aims to address this critical skills requirement within our industry. Oracle South Africa continues to invest in helping South African youth develop specialised IT skills required to succeed in the fourth industrial revolution, and thus creating a future skills pipeline for Oracle and its partner community in South Africa.
The Oracle Graduate Leadership programme has successfully delivered eighty-four graduates to date, with many of them securing permanent employment with Oracle partner companies and other organisations including Accenture, IS Partners and PSG Wealth. Enrolment for the 2018 programme has commenced with twenty-one students already confirmed.