City and UVU Africa mark milestone in CAPACITI skills development programme

This week, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, joined the City’s tech industry partner, UVU Africa, to celebrate the success of its ongoing CAPACITI skills programme.  Read more below:

Initiated in 2010, CAPACITI has trained more than 6 000 young people with critical digital skills such as software development and systems support. The programme places particular emphasis on upskilling youths who don’t usually have ready access to updated technology or tech training.

‘Helping people acquire sought-after abilities not only makes them more employable, it strengthens Cape Town and our economy and makes us a more future-fit city,’ said Alderman Vos.

The project’s trainees have gone on to carve out a space for themselves either in their own businesses or in other major corporations.

Last year, Oceans Five, a team that participated in CAPACITI’s coding incubation programme took home the top prize at the City’s Innovation Hackathon, a 24-hour marathon event where entrants were challenged to come up with an “E-Public Participation Platform” that can be used by the City to improve residents’ direct access to services.

Using their acquired tech training, Oceans Five created a web application enabling residents to search for jobs and to see what City projects are currently on the go.

‘By enabling platforms such as UVU Africa to continue being a valuable resource of skills development, our communities will become increasingly empowered to find a place in an ever-evolving economy,’ said Alderman Vos.

To find out more about CAPACITI, visit their website at UVUAfrica.com/CAPACITI.