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PRESS RELEASE At its recent Career Campus graduation, with 40 learners obtaining the highly recognised and highly marketable Master Network Engineer (MNE) certification, Torque IT called for industry to recognise that the expectation of a “ready-made product” that can be employed at high level is unrealistic. Tebogo Makgatho, graduation MC and business development director of Torque IT, says students are an important seed in transforming the local landscape. “Skills are needed to sustain South Africa’s growth and also to enable the country to take its rightful place as a global player.” Skills, however, are only one side of the equation. “People need skills, and also experience. Learners have to start with obtaining their qualifications first, and then build up the necessary experience through appointments in the workplace,” she says. A known catch-22, but employers should also heed the reality that people branch out after gaining several years’ experience, leaving fewer skills in the middle ground. “This should be a wake-up call for prospective employers, who might be losing out on skilled and qualified people who can be used on real projects immediately. With some guidance, recently qualified learners can be an invaluable asset to any organisation.” She says that each graduation translates into progress. “The MNE programme, for example, has various exit levels, which means graduates can be easily absorbed into the market. There is a high demand for these skills and examinations conform to international standards.” The MNE certification is a one-year diploma course, which ensures that learners are educated only on the latest technology relevant to the market. This also makes the course very attractive to students. “South Africa is current in terms of IT knowledge and skills. With the quality of training on par with international standards, also evidenced by the number of learners from other African countries completing the certification, MNE graduates can also go abroad and so be absorbed worldwide,” Makgatho says. Torque IT commits to employment as an end product of qualifying. Thus, she adds, the number of students on any course will be reduced to prevent flooding the market with skills. Torque IT sponsored nine of the 40 MNE graduates. Ends About Torque IT Torque IT, a 66% black-owned business, is made up of 3 divisions viz, Torque Technical Training, Torque Career Campus, and Torque Education Resources. As a specialist in education, Torque IT provides high-level technical and user training through Torque Technical Training, one of the largest Cisco Learning Solutions Partner (CLSP) in the emerging markets worldwide. Torque IT currently has branches in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Nairobi (Kenya) and Luanda (Angola), and provides training in over 22 countries in Africa through the Torque Education Resources division. Torque Technical Training is also a Microsoft Gold Partner (Learning Solutions), an Authorised SUN Education Centre, a Novell Gold Training Partner, a VMWare Authorised Training Centre and a CompTIA Gold Partner. Torque’s largest clientele concentration is 65-70% corporate, with blue chip clients in its top 20 including clients from verticals as disparate as the ICT sector, telecommunications, food & beverage and financial. Torque Career Campus provides customised training to school-leavers seeking skills in the ICT industry, with a specialist focus on Learnerships. For more information contact: |