South Africa is failing to expose and prepare young people for the evolving world of work, says Tumelo Dichabe, business advisor at Technoserve, a non-profit organisation.
“Our youth are not exposed to the options that exist or that would result from the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and they remain outsiders,” says Dichabe, adding that this lack of exposure will have a massive impact on their employability.
“It is not true that our youth are not interested in 4IR, they simply do not have access to this rapidly evolving world,” says the Technoserve business advisor.
Technoserve, rated the number one non-profit organisation for fighting poverty by ‘ImpactMatters’ annual ratings, operates in 29 countries, where it harnesses the power of the private sector to help poor people get out of poverty.
Dichabe says 4IR will unleash hundreds of opportunities, but he warns South Africa is not making deliberate moves to capitalise on them.
“We need to explain 4IR in practical terms to the youth, in terms they can relate to,” advises Dichabe.
“To get our youth interested in 4IR, we need to make it practical, many still think 4IR is better and more powerful computers.”
Dichabe says many youths do not understand what 4IR means in the real world of professions such as HR, legal matters or software development.
“We need to break 4IR down so that it is accessible and understandable,” says Dichabe.
At present, only the few people who are in the know are taking up 4IR opportunities while the rest remain in the dark.
“We are not creating enough options, if you do not know that something exists, you do not know what options are available,” says Dichabe.
Speaking about some of the opportunities that are turning into multi-billion-dollar industries, Dichabe says with the right exposure and support South African youth can take up opportunities arising from 4IR.
He says they can be players in data science, e-sports, alternative energy, robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, information systems and development of applications (Apps).
“Today, about 492 million Apps are down-loaded daily and this figure is projected to grow to 250 billion in the very near future,” adds Dichabe.
He says many of South Africa’s youth are too far removed from the technology ecosystem. There is very little information being shared with them and as a result, they remain far removed from existing technology.
Dichabe also dispels fears that 4IR will result in machines replacing workers, instead, he says their jobs will simply be transformed.
“We have multiple industries that are being infiltrated by technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, block chains-all of them are converging and creating new businesses,” says Dichabe.
He says the world is experiencing a convergence of many technologies and this is bringing about the transformation of work as we know it.
The business advisor says young people, “who have already qualified but are without work opportunities” must be helped to become 4IR ready.
Dichabe says this can be done through exposure to the various technologies that are enhancing their areas of interest.
“You do not have to change your interest but you do need to understand and apply convergence in your chosen sector in terms of how that will impact work in your industry so that you can be much more effective,” explains Dichabe.
He says, for example, robotics combined with artificial intelligence can create a powerful lawyer.
“A lawyer using such technology to gather references, circumstances, and information on how those cases were won only takes a few minutes,” says Dichabe.
“If you go to a law firm today, they will tell you it takes weeks to do the same exercise.”
He says while South Africa has the necessary infrastructure to unleash a 4IR revolution, access remains a major problem.
“We lag on internet access and internet speeds … we are also hamstrung by high data costs,” says Dichabe.
“The infrastructure is here, but we are not getting it to the level where everyone can access it. Having a smartphone is not good enough.”
Dichabe says 4IR has created a global market for many products and services. He says it is a travesty that so much human capital in SA youth remains untapped and under-developed.
