In an effort to provide digital skills for unemployed youth, NEMISA (National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa) has partnered with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) and Coursera to bring a high-end online based learning program which is set to train approximately 50 000 unemployed youth for free. The courses address the skills needed for the 4th Industrial Revolution. The partnership between DCDT, NEMISA and Coursera, which is the biggest online learning platform in the world, also seeks to expand on NEMISA’s already existing course content and allow more versatile learning opportunities.

The platform has around 3 000 available courses from which potential students will chose from, ranging from courses in Digital Technologies such as Basic computer skills, Data Science, Coding, App Development, Digital marketing, Artificial Intelligence and other business-related courses that will increase their chances of employability. The programme also aims to skill, reskill and upskill unemployed Citizens in South Africa. The programme’s focus is however mainly on young people who did not finish school, school learners who could not enter tertiary education, university, TVETs and Community College students who did not graduate and graduates who are still to find employment.