MTN to invest R15M in skills development

Mobile giant,MTN has invested R15-million in a skills development programme, which will officially be launched in February this year and aims to facilitate job creation, skills development and the upskilling of young graduates 
entering the telecommunications sector. The initial investment of R15-million will be spent over a two-year period.
It will identify 83 prospective graduates for the first year in the fields of engineering, finance, 
logistics and information technology, the ‘core’ fields for the MTN group. The graduates will be managed not only by the human 
resources department, but also by MTN’s line managers.
The bursary programme will target 30 of the top high school achievers who are entering a tertiary institution to further studies in the fields of engineering and finance.
Stresses that the responsibility of investing in skills development is not that of government alone, but that both the private and public sectors must play a significant role in human resource development.
Through such investments, MTN will not face a skills challenge in the next ten years. South Africa could still be reeling from a skills shortage in the next ten years, if the necessary steps are not taken. Executive research firm Landelahni Busi-ness Leaders has forecast that the skills shortage could last for at least the next decade.
This is not just an investment for MTN, but also for the betterment of South Africa and the continent.