Salt sponsoring UNAM and NUST students

STAFF REPORTRER

2020 was the year of going to work, school and shops without ever leaving home. It was also the year of job losses, a nasty economic downturn and a bleak outlook for most, but even more so for the hardest hit, lower-income and disadvantaged.

It’s clear that the economy will not be what is was pre-Covid. Increasingly, one of the key steps needed to foster a safe and successful economic recovery is expanded access to the digital skills needed to fill new jobs. One of the keys to a genuinely inclusive recovery are programs to provide easier access to digital skills for people hardest hit by job losses.

To help address this need, Microsoft has launched a global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of the year. A major part of this initiative is free access to learning paths and content to help people develop the skills these in-demand jobs require, and providing low-cost certifications to those passing the exams.

However, even a generously reduced examination fee of N$220, could be a tough financial ask for some students from low-income families. That is why Windhoek-based cloud-services company Salt Essential IT, and Gina Alves and Amin Azab from Microsoft in their personal capacity are footing the examination bill for 40 post-graduate students from UNAM and NUST.

“The Covid-19 health crisis has created a global economic crisis. It is also exacerbating existing economic inequality, while digital business transformation is accelerating. Addressing these challenges at the very core level is imperative. Regardless of age, whether students in schools, youth in and out of college, Microsoft’s mission is to empower every individual to achieve more by skilling, upskilling and reskilling them and leading a better quality of life,” says Alves, Territory Channel Manager at Microsoft.

Managing Director of Salt, Sonja Coetzer, encourages other Namibian companies and individuals to also chip in and assist in covering the Microsoft certification examination fees of other students: “The courses offered by Microsoft is completely free of charge and imparts digital skills that are very sought-after. It is quite silly that a mere N$220 should be a stumbling block for graduates to attain a certification that will greatly enhance their options in finding employment."

“Technology is an enabler of health, education, agriculture, business, government and disruptive entrepreneurs. It creates opportunities in every industry to contribute and make a difference. It creates relevancy in the work place and equals work place diversity. Only once we truly embrace technology through programs such as the Microsoft Global Skilling Initiative, will we grasp the opportunity to be the chance we want, whether it is to alleviate poverty or make healthcare more accessible to all Namibians.”