Tech meets training, a hybrid solution
Leading training provider People Solutions announced their partnership with Digemy, a top Tech Start-up based in Cape Town and launched an innovative new online, Digital Academy under the FutureSkills.Africa brand.
4-IR Skills Development
Changing the future of education starts with changing mindsets. The schooling and education model hasn’t evolved for centuries. Typically, it’s been linked to the 3 Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic and existed in a delivery model that would “push” information on or at the learner. Making time for learning isn’t easy in our ‘always on’ lifestyles. We are overloaded with content daily, and attention spans are shrinking, impacting cognitive load. A solution could lie in microlearning and in a model where the learner can ‘Pull” content (on demand) and tailor-make their learning journey.
“On the dawn of the 4th Industrial Revolution, education, training and skills development delivery methods are transforming. A classroom is no longer a place, but rather space. As part of the People Solution’s “Massive Transformative Purpose” to take skills development to the last person, in the last town in South Africa, Africa and beyond, we needed a solution that could provide the latest technology, at scale and with an exponential impact. A solution backed by data and enhanced by machine learning. We decided to partner with Digemy to incorporate their award-winning learning platform within our Future Skills digital academy” said Natasha Terlecki, GM: Emerging Markets and Digital Transformation at leading training provider People Solutions.
Innovation and ROLI
“We are very excited about the change Futureskills.Africa will create a continent that is in desperate need of accelerated skills development. When we learn, the process of understanding what we know and how often to repeat it is still very manual, stealing time from the learner to do something that can actually be done by an intelligent system. By automating this process, we are able to increase the knowledge of a learner while decreasing the time spent learning. We have seen some amazing results and received some inspiring testimonials of how it optimises the learning journey. Our method is all about accountability; giving learners a measuring stick of exactly where they are, not just in terms of how much they know today, but how many times they still need to repeat what they know for it to be locked down in their long-term memory to enable them to apply it with confidence. Digemy decided to partner with People Solutions on the FutureSkills.Africa Platform, not only to develop relevant, future-fit content that addresses the identified Future Skills curriculum as set out by the World Economic Forum and Global Business Services Sector, but also to accelerate skills development by using a platform that has proven to deliver results, in a continent in dire need of skills development.” said Kobus Louw, Managing Director, Demy. “The confluence of tech and training that the two brands represent resulted in the birth of the FutureSkills.Africa platform.”
The platform continuously measures the knowledge of the learner on key concepts, and by placing each learner on a specific knowledge level for each key concept, knows what concepts to repeat to each learner at what frequency, to enable the translation of information into their long-term memory. The concept converts studying for “passery” to studying for mastery and ensures the optimal retention of information.
The platform launches with the Life-Long Learning and Financial Literacy series today, followed by the demand-led pathways of Work Readiness Skills, Digital Literacy,
Future Skills, Business Process Outsourcing Functional Skills, BPO Specialist skills such as Customer Service, Sales, and Collections.
Phase two will incorporate our ‘Agility Skills’ with a focus on soft skills, reskilling, future skilling and upskilling the current labour force to be Future-Fit and remain relevant, followed by deeper digital skills, with an introduction to AI, Blockchain, Data Analytics and various specialised Coding pathways from development, analytics, cloud computing to cybersecurity and risk.
The platform is accessible and affordable to all. A data-light, environment that offers an interactive user experience and is linked to gamified rewards and recognition dashboard. The learning is on-demand, accessible at any time, on any device. Knowledge retention occurs without a massive impact on productivity or cognitive load.
Digital modules and courses will be available from today to Training and Development teams and will be launched to the consumer market shortly thereafter.
Industry and strategic alignment
CEO of People Solutions – Nita Goodall is passionate about providing “Impact Training” to the Youth, Women, and Persons with Disabilities, with a particular focus on the GBS (General Business Services) sector. The platform was designed to provide content that is customized to the challenges faced by these groups and many others when it comes to barriers to entry into the workplace and access to education and skills development that equips them to be “Fit for Purpose”.
“The impact that we can have on the lives of our unemployed youth, their extended families and dependents is what drives us to develop solutions that aid learners in their journey to employability. We understand the importance of instilling skills for application in the workplace, but also the need for mentorship and support of entrepreneurs. As such, plans to develop bespoke content that results in new venture creation and links unemployed persons to the formal economy are already underway. We are in constant discussion with Industry Bodies such as BPESA (Business Process Enablement South Africa), various NPO’s along with Government Organisations such as the DTI, Harambee, Yes4Youth and several corporate partners on various special projects that will support the National Skills Framework Strategy and provide collaborative contributions to the future Ecosystem.” Nita Goodhall – CEO People Solutions.
The FutureSkills.Africa brand and platform is jointly owned and operated by People Solutions and Digemy and is set to be a gamechanger in the digital learning space.
