Strengthening Skills development through ICT

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Strengthening Skills development through ICT
e-Learning to enhance Youth employability to
fight hunger Poverty A case for Swaziland

• Presented by Peterson Dlamini
• at the 5th Annual UNESCO-UNEVOC e-Learning Summit
  
• Held in Dar es Salaam
• 25 -27 May 2011

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Location of Swaziland on the map of Southern
Africa
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Some facts about Swaziland

• It is classified as a middle income country and
  lies in the bottom level of the quartile.
• Has population of 1.2 Million people
• Its GDP stand at US2.29 bn and its main revenue
  comes from SACU 70 (2009) and the rest from
  agricultural export.
• It is land locked and share boarders with South
  Africa and Mozambique
• Covers a land area of 17000sq Km

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Challenges facing the country

• High rate of HIV infection, poverty and
  unemployment
• Increasing numbers of young graduates from the
  few tertiary institutions we have who can not be
  absorbed by the job market
• Access to Higher /Tertiary Education and
  Vocational Training centres posing great
  challenge due to space shortage
• Some Programmes offered in our tertiary/ higher
  institutions not adequately addressing the
  emerging economy
• Inadequate involvement of industry in the
  development of vocational curriculum

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How we plan to pull ourselves from the above
challenges

• The Swaziland has developed and adopted a Poverty
  Reduction Strategy and Action Plan (PRSAP).
• Vocational training and Skills development has
  been identified as one of the key areas that need
  to be strengthened to address Unemployment
  Poverty.
• As there are few Voc Training Centres cf. to the
  number of potential learners, the use of ICT
  e-learning best option

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Steps we have taken to strengthen the use of ICT
e-Learning

• We have made it a requirement that all students
  from our TTCs and Universities take and pass a
  course on Digital literacy before they can be
  allowed to graduate.
• Special Computer Courses for those who would be
  teachers have been developed and embedded in
  TTC/University curric.
• Communities with assistance from gov have built
  computer labs in schools, and Gov has supplied
  computers.

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Steps taken to use ICT e-learning to increase
access to Vocational Training

• With assistance from our Development Partners
  i.e. the Republic of China on Taiwan, and
  local/intl philanthropists, gov has been able
  to
• Supply computers and also provide internet
  connection (internet cafes) at some strategic
  points in rural areas where learners can take
  online courses.
• In areas where telephone lines are not available,
  SPTC and SEC have been drawn to assist in
  providing solar panels.

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Vocational Courses that we are planning use in
the e-learning pilot project

• Pilot Areas
• Tourism and Hospitality
• Water Technology
• Secretarial and Office Management
• Other Issues we have addressed
• Training of Service providers in using ICT and
  e-learning as a teaching tool
• Identification of Voc Centres where we are to
  pilot the e-learning project

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Group Photo of ICT Teachers
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Challenges we anticipate to face

• Inadequate number of trained technicians to
  provide services and maintenance to the
  computers
• Shortage of appropriately qualified computer
  teachers .
• The low teacher salary shall cause high staff
  turnover .
• High costs to internet connections might course
  the project to stall
• High rate of unemployment could increase crime,
  hence theft to our computers

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• Thank You