Tag: upskilling

Jobs of the future require new skills. However, for millions of young people in South Africa, these skills are hard to come by as countless communities lack access to crucial opportunities, which makes preparing for the new world of work an almost impossible task. 

The great resignation, a term coined by psychologist Anthony Klotz, is a post-pandemic movement that saw a wave of resignations take hold across the United States (US) and other parts of the world. In 2021 alone, more than a quarter of America’s total workforce resigned from their jobs.

COVID-19 has drastically and irrevocably changed the way that the world works. Even as South Africa moves forward into semi-normalcy, the looming 'fourth wave' reminds businesses of the need to remain agile, embrace remote working policies, and lean on technology that drives productivity even as traditional working cultures fall away.

The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a digital revolution that has massive transformative potential. Technology is rapidly evolving, and if used correctly, it can improve both the spend and quality of business operations. However, without the right skills within the business, technology is either used ineffectively or not used at all, which can be detrimental.

Spaza shops are at the heart of many South African informal communities, selling small quantities of everything, from groceries and home care products to medication and cleaning supplies. For the millions of citizens who live hand-to-mouth, the role of the spaza shop as a bulk breaker is a lifeline.

Banks and financial service institutions (FSIs) come under pressure from government, shareholders, employees and customers as security risks increase during the pandemic. 98 percent of IT decision makers working in banks and FSIs in South Africa are under pressure to level up their security protocols, according to our new research.

According to our new Accelerating Digital Agility Research, CIOs and IT decision makers (ITDMs) across Europe, The Middle East, Europe and Russia (EMEAR) are looking to maximise investments in digitisation and drive innovation after a difficult year which raised the profile of IT leaders in driving critical workplace innovation.

A survey of 200 skilled professionals with degrees and solid work experience found that many would be willing to go independent soon if they had an initial contract to help them find their feet. Skilled professionals forced to work from home since the COVID-19 lockdown are finding themselves reluctant to return to the rigid corporate world.

When we talk about youth unemployment in South Africa, we often use words like ‘heart-wrenching’ and ‘major challenge.’ Then we look at the statistics, and we realise that it is an understatement. What we are living now is a national crisis.

Over the past 20 years, the human attention span has rapidly decreased from 12 seconds to eight seconds, according to a Microsoft study. A short attention span has huge implications on how effectively an individual retains information. And it impacts an organisation’s approach to upskilling their employees and other stakeholders, to give their business a competitive edge.