In her recent talk at the WomenTech2023 Global Conference, Lyndi Lawson-Smith, the MD of Umuzi spoke about the complex problems facing South African youth regarding access to education:

“The pathways to high-value digital careers are far too few and far too slow. Traditional education takes too long and only offers a few thousand students a year the opportunity to succeed. Alternative education providers also have their own challenges, which often rely on corporate South Africa funding for the amount of seats they can offer to young people. The result is we are moving too slowly in trying to fill the shortage of tech skills in South Africa.”

According to a recent ICT skills survey, South Africa has a skills shortage of around 77,000 high-value digital jobs and currently outsources 300,000 tech jobs to overseas workers. This shortage is impeding the growth of the economy and stifling innovation.

Lawson-Smith went further in the talk to ask how a humble organisation, like Umuzi, could try and move the needle on such a systematic problem. Their answer: an Income Sharing Agreement (ISA). Umuzi will be offering young people the opportunity to de-risk their digital careers by paying for their own learning pathway, only after they have secured a high-value job. These ISAs remove the upfront financial burden for the learner, on the understanding that they will share a small percentage of their income, once they are earning above a minimum threshold. Globally, ISAs are being used to decrease the global education debt crisis as well as open the opportunities to a more diverse learner profile.

Hloni Letuka, Project Manager at Umuzi, emphasises the urgency of this initiative:

“As the socio-economic crisis has worsened in South Africa, we are feeling an increasing sense of urgency from the young people we work with and who apply to our programs, as well as our corporate partners. We have to decrease the barriers to entry into high-value digital careers while at the same time increasing the number of people that can access these opportunities. At Umuzi, we have had to turn away thousands of incredibly bright, driven people because we didn't have the opportunity for them. The ISA puts the power firmly back in the hands of the learner. It says 'believe in me because I am worth it, and I will show you value when I have made it'.”

Umuzi is piloting a program that will run alongside Umuzi’s learnerships and short courses to increase the number of opportunities it can offer. Based on the success of the pilot program, it will be scaled to meet the economy's demand for web development skills and provide more of the talented young people in its pipeline the opportunity to access employment.

Umuzi has a long and successful history of equipping young people with future-focused skills and preparing them for the world of work. Over 80% of its South African graduates are employed. This new learning pathway will create more opportunities for young people to access the skills they need to kick-start their careers in the digital age.

For more information on this groundbreaking program and updates on this opportunity, follow updates on our socials or get in touch with Andrew below.