In an effort to motivate and upskill learners at the Afrika Tikkun center in Diepsloot, Fourways, Mint sponsored prizes for the NGO’s maths and science competition which took place on October 14, 2016, thereby, arming students with the necessary skills to mitigate South Africa’s current skills shortage.
Various industries are grappling with skills shortages owing to a lack of university entrants with the necessary maths and science skills and capabilities to help fill engineering, medical and technical positions.
“As a global IT entity at the forefront of innovation, it is essential for Mint to employ and retain the best-of-breed IT developers and analytical minds in the industry”, notes Mint Group HR Executive Lauren Clark.
She points out, however, that the low standards of maths and science education at school level renders it challenging for students to enter these fields, leaving organisations with limited options to find suitable resources.
Therefore, Mint took a ‘people and community first’ approach to this challenge and launched several upskilling initiatives whereby the entity mentors and financially supports institutions, such as Afrika Tikkun and the eDeaf learning center in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
Women in Technology
Mint is also the first company in South Africa to open a Women in IT (WIT) chapter, as part of it’s IAMCP drive, which is part of a global initiative aimed at empowering women to enter and make valuable contributions in technical fields.
The organisation is also in the process of partnering with the Johannesburg-based non-profit organisation, Maths Centre, to assist with its vision of improving maths, science and technology education in South Africa.
Further, Mint has a thriving internship program, with 13 interns welcomed in 2016, and also introduced a learnership programme in 2015 for hearing impaired school graduates, whereby ten promising students received financial assistance and mentorship throughout a NQF 4 Business Administration & Computer End-User programme.
“Upskilling our communities and especially, our children, is not an option for us but a mission. We continuously aim to beat the status quo, conquer challenges and empower the youth to join us and change the world as we know it through IT innovation,” Clark concludes.
