Spatial Skills aims to uplift Unemployed Youth

Esri South Africa provides free Unemployed Youth Training. We recognise the high rate of unemployment among our youth in South Africa. Our vision is to provide skills development and capacity building for our youth in the Geography and Science space. Esri South Africa have implemented numerous initiatives and have formed strategic partnerships to assist with skills development and to pass on critical geospatial skills to unemployed youth, aligning them to possible job opportunities. Adaptation and upskilling are essential, and these initiatives aim to educate people and reskill individuals. Many of the skills can be learnt online.

We offer free training in geographic information system (GIS) to unemployed youth in the 18-to-30-year age category. We train unemployed youth on SAQA accredited training courses which cover the basic theoretical and practical GIS concepts including spatial data structure, data sources and transfer methods, projections and coordinate system, as well as fundamental spatial analysis techniques.

“Technology is changing workplace roles, expectations, and opportunities. We believe learning is an essential strategy for success and geospatial skills are now, more than ever, an in-demand and highly-employable skill,” says Patrick McKivergan, Managing Director of Esri South Africa.

A lack of funds required to further studies is often an obstacle youth face and so this free initiative offers an opportunity for young people in our communities to gain knowledge and skills which in turn increases the skills pool and empowers youth.