The jobs of tomorrow are changing rapidly, with employers around the world dealing with the disparity between the needs of employers and the skills that youth possess. The situation is especially pronounced in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sector. In South Africa, only 20% of youth graduate with degrees relevant to jobs that require STEM degrees. This skills shortage is hampering South Africa’s long-term economic prospects and creating challenges to progress towards achieving sustainable and comprehensive growth. Digital Empowers, alongside goIT, TCS’ flagship STEM education program, is embarking on a global tour focusing on closing the STEM skills gap, diversifying local STEM talent pipelines and empowering youth.
We’ll be making stops in 8 countries; gleaning insights from our international network of industry leaders, non-profit partners, educators and students. On our first stop in South Africa, we examine questions around the current state of STEM in Sub-Saharan Africa, innovative solutions to increase youth participation in STEM education, the crucial role of inclusion towards economic empowerment and the value of multi-stakeholder collaborations in accelerating the region’s journey towards global competitiveness. Foonote: Digital Empowers is TCS’ CSR thought leadership initiative aimed at accelerating innovation for social impact. The overall goal of Digital Empowers is to facilitate the generation of new ideas, foster the spread of these ideas while facilitating action through a cross-collaborative process. Since inception, Digital Empowers has engaged with thousands of experts to create and expand the knowledge base, explore technology solutions that have exponential impact on the most pressing problems – all of which have cross-sections and applications around the world, and to create an ecosystem of vital cross-sector partnerships leading to collaborative social impact solutions.
The program has also opened doors for social entrepreneurs and changemakers to ideate and collaborate with business and technology leaders to bring novel social impact innovations to the community. About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services is a purpose-led transformation partner to many of the world’s largest businesses. For more than 50 years, it has been collaborating with clients and communities to build a greater future through innovation and collective knowledge. TCS offers an integrated portfolio of cognitive powered business, technology, and engineering services and solutions. The company’s 488,000 consultants across 46 countries help empower individuals, enterprises, and societies to build on belief. Visit www.tcs.com and follow TCS news at @TCS_News.
