Dimension Data has partnered with the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) for its City of Johannesburg Educating Digital Interns (COJEDI) programme. The programme targets residents of the City who have completed either Matric or a post-Matric IT qualification and are currently unemployed. Dimension Data has taken on 11 interns to be trained in vendor specific technologies over six months.

Successful interns undergo a highly intensive, next generation digital-based programme comprised of a three-month technical bootcamp and one month of soft-skills training.  This is followed by integrated workplace learning. At the end of the training period Dimension Data will employ the students if vacancies are available, otherwise it will endeavour to get them placed with its clients and partners.

“South Africa is dealing with chronic skills shortages, especially in the ICT sector, and we believe that more should be done to develop new entrants to the industry, and once they are in provide them with the necessary training and more importantly, practical, on the job training to build up their experience,” says Sean Duffy, Executive – Security at Dimension Data Middle East & Africa. “At Dimension Data, we are passionate about education and the change that it can bring about in the world. This initiative is an extension of our education focus and we are hopeful that by taking part in initiatives such as this, we assist in bridging the digital divide and changing the lives of those we take on, for the better.” 

Dimension Data signed on to be a part of the COJEDI initiative in 2015, when it took in four students, in its security business unit and gave them training and certification in McAfee, Checkpoint, BlueCoat and Cisco.  All of those students are now permanently employed by Dimension Data.

“This initiative is evidence of what a successful Public/Private project is capable of achieving. Dimension Data would like to expand its involvement in this initiative, and would in the future like to take even more interns on-board, so that more young can gain life-changing work experience and get the support they need to confidently enter the job market,” concludes Duffy.

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