Shaping future talent, together.

Absa’s Digital Academy interns were invited to share their highlights and more information on the opportunities that manifested after being selected for the ICT skills development programmes.

They provided insights into how the opportunities presented by Absa and The Digital Academy have played a pivotal role in laying the groundwork for their careers.

“One standout moment for me during my time with the academy has been the Absa Hackathon, where I witnessed Absa employees coming together to collaborate on and address real-life problems,” shared Phakitso Mohale. “It truly exemplifies the company’s commitment to valuing employee innovation and fostering solutions. Through this experience, I have learned so much that I can take forward into my career.” “The academy showcased the power of collaboration and inclusion, encouraging us to function as a cohesive team. I’ve also witnessed their awareness and support for individuals with disabilities throughout my experience,” said Kwazi Kubheka, who is physically disabled.

Changing one life at a time

Absa, in collaboration with The Digital Academy, commemorated the accomplishments of its young talent and learners who are part of their skills development programmes during the first Absa and The Digital Academy Young Talent in Technology Day.

Held on Friday, 27 October 2023, at Absa Towers West in Johannesburg, Mpumi Mpisekhaya, Senior People Partner for Everyday Banking at Absa, opened the event by highlighting The Digital Academy and its enduring nine-year partnership with Absa.

“The Digital Academy was established to tackle the shortage of crucial technology skills, aiming to upskill young talent for the purpose of alleviating unemployment and fostering opportunities for youth. This is achieved through incentive-based, hands-on learning, with the steadfast support of strategic corporate partners such as Absa, who share a common vision,” stated Mpisekhaya.

In the 2022-2023 period alone, the academy has had 10 different cohorts running across Absa Technology, upskilling a total of 224 young candidates, including people with disabilities. These different cohorts have developed an array of critical skills, including mobile and full-stack development, data science and Salesforce skills. This skills development at the academy goes hand-in-hand with career input and guidance from both Absa executives and the academy. “The Digital Academy is our biggest young talent partner and continues to be invaluable as we strive towards our purpose of empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together… one story at a time,” said Mpisekhaya.

Speaker Mike Wood, The Digital Academy’s CEO, said it was sobering that South Africa’s unemployment rate is the highest in the world and a compounding problem, with 32% of employable people without jobs and 60% of this country’s youth unemployed.

“Some 75,000 graduates every year cannot find employment, but the paradox is that we have a rising shortage of critical skills in multiple sectors, so companies are taking billions offshore in their search for talent – not because they want to, but because they have to. Developing scarce and critical skills can slowly change this narrative.”

The problem of unemployment

Wood’s message underlined the importance of South Africa being proactive and collaborative in addressing and reducing unemployment rates. The strained economy should not continue being the fallback unemployment excuse. There are people and organisations, like Absa and The Digital Academy, actively developing and using local skills to bring money back to South Africa. “In 2013, The Digital Academy was a development company called Empire State,” continued Wood. “We recognised skills shortages even then and were developing our own skills; these skills were constantly being poached, so the academy was formed to help put a scarce skills pipeline in place.”

Wood mentioned that as of November 1, 2023, The Digital Academy underwent a rebranding, adopting the name “Shaper.” This rebranding more accurately captures the essence of what the academy does, emphasising its continuous efforts to shape its offerings for the upcoming generations of young talent. The academy follows a demand-led approach to its programmes, moulding them to align with present and future skills development requirements. “A further contributor to our success is the rigorous screening we go through and the young people we select are absolutely top-class. There is definitely no lack of talent in South Africa and the selection process is one that starts with thousands of applications and whittled down to manageable cohorts. It’s a very tough process. Another advantage we have is the ability to work with people with disabilities.”

Wood believes the work The Digital Academy has done and continues to do with Absa has made a tangible difference – both for youth development and the contribution to the country’s skills.

“Together, our core purpose remains steadfast: to equip and empower South Africa’s young talent with employable skills. While together we also do what we can to create opportunities, it’s the responsibility of young talent to take opportunities and make them work. Our graduates have the motivation to do this. An event like this is important in order to recognise the young people who have maximised their employability potential and worked extremely hard to be successful on our programmes.” The need for talent was discussed at the event by Cowyk Fox, Chief Executive of Absa’s Everyday Banking, who substantiated the importance of the Absa-Digital Academy relationship.

“Absa is a Pan-African bank, inspired by those we serve,” said Fox. “At Absa, we recognise that technological excellence is unattainable without investing in the development of our people. This realisation underscores the paramount importance of our initiatives with The Digital Academy.”

Fox said that ecommerce is the way of the world, and that the world is now at the cusp of another exciting revolution.

“The pace at which technology has moved has accelerated every year and young talent can shape its futures. Youth training is important, both as a customer segment and for future technology sustainability. It’s a key focus for Absa and the academy to take youth dreams forward.”

Technology magic

Following on from Fox’s comments, Clyde Oldham, CIO of Digital Infrastructure and Platforms Absa Everyday Banking, said: “People are fundamentally the lifeblood and intelligence of technology, and investments must be made into them, as they are into technology. We recognise the value of what The Digital Academy does and that young, passionate talent provides the magic to contribute to technology advances and bring technology alive.’”

“Artificial intelligence (AI), for example, must be taken seriously as it is going to shape the world, but it has to be complemented with the intelligence of humans and our mutual objectives help enable the technology skill sets in our youth. This will play a part in the economic development to address unemployment.”

Asked what good talent looks like, Sharan Laloo, Deputy CIO of Digital Channels Technology Absa Everyday Banking, said it is individuals with a combination of technical and soft skills. “Good talent has the right attitude, aptitude, tenacity, communication skills, ethics and the ability to work with people as a team player. It has an aptitude and hunger for knowledge and skills and demonstrates deliberate intent for skills development at places such as The Digital Academy. Part of our developing young talent includes guiding them on how to act like leaders, always be authentic and inculcate leadership qualities.”

“Loyalty is another key attribute because it demonstrates commitment, emotional investment and desire to bring the best to the job.”

At the event, the issue of gender barriers in the workplace was also raised, including the feeling of imposter syndrome. Responding to this, Khanyisa Mhlaba, CIO of Voice and CRM Absa Everyday Banking, advised the young people in the room not to own perceived barriers, such as the subtle – probably unintentional – discrimination women may feel.

“Understand what the barriers are in order to overcome them. One way you can do this is by working to the best of your abilities. Being willing to do things others don’t want to do will get you noticed. Make yourself an active and authoritative contributor to decision-making processes and that will help with the confidence to overcome imposter syndrome.”

Solid advice from great leaders

Absa’s Senior Leadership and Learning Specialist, Liesle Barendse, said that changing one story at a time requires a plot, setting, point of view, characters and drama. Her advice given to young talent at the event was: “Establish what makes up your story, which includes your supporting cast of family, friends and co-workers. Celebrate your successes as part of your plot. Display your purpose and be resourceful. Hold on to your values, build inclusivity, have courage and remember that choices made today will influence what happens tomorrow.”

Building on this narrative wisdom, Johnson Idesoh, Absa’s Group CIO, added, “The most important thing to have is curiosity and the desire to constantly look for new things. Speak up! Speak your truth. If you believe strongly enough, you will be heard. Never doubt that a single person can change the world.”

In closing this celebration of youth development, Thatayaone Matolong, CIO of Technology and Change Absa Everyday Banking, reiterated Absa’s commitment to the success of South Africa’s young talent and through The Digital Academy, the intent to train and develop a skilled workforce that is geared for the digital revolution and can work with disruptive technologies and trends such as IoT, robotics, virtual reality (VR) and AI.

“We want to bring technology services outsourced to companies overseas back through investment into relationships like the one we have with The Digital Academy. We are committed to empowering youth and want to send our local technology talent out into the continent and beyond,” concluded Matolong.

www.absa.co.za