Thousands to learn critical digital skills as Nemisa, Coursera partner

Thousands to learn critical digital skills as Nemisa, Coursera partner





In an effort to cushion the jobs and economic blow caused by the pandemic, two organisations focused on upskilling have come together for a job-relevant learning initiative.


Today, on the back of the release of the 2021 Global Skills Report, the National Electronic Media Institute in South Africa (Nemisa) and online learning platform Coursera announced their partnership to upskill unemployed and under-employed citizens in SA.


Nemisa is a non-profit institute for education that derives its mandate from the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies.


According to a statement, the upskilling initiative will focus on strengthening the country’s skills proficiency in key digital domains like machine learning and software development.


“It’s exciting to see South Africa becoming more proficient across many digital skills, according to Coursera’s 2021 Global Skills Report,” says Trevor Rammitlwa, CEO of Nemisa.


“We’re thrilled that our partnership with Coursera will allow the local workforce to access more than 5 000 world-class courses from leading university and industry partners to support the country and its citizens in our journey towards becoming digital first.”


Before entering the national COVID-19-induced lockdown, the South African economy was already in decline, with the country’s unemployment rate rising over time.


The most recent figures from Statistics SA show the rate of unemployment in SA increased from 32.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 32.6% in the first quarter of 2021. The stats further highlight the concerning rate of unemployment among those aged between 15 and 24, which now stands at 74.7%, based on the expanded definition, which includes discouraged job-seekers.


Both Nemisa and Courser ..

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