South African businesses, like those from the rest of the world, are battling a crippling technology skills shortfall. The tragedy in this country is that it is happening against the backdrop of the highest unemployment rate in the world. According to Youth Capital, more than 9,2-million young people in this country are not in employment, in school or in training, and live in households where no one works.

Providing South Africa’s youth with experiential training in a live tech environment gives them the ability to contribute to the workplace, adding to its diversity as well as helping improve profitability, writes Jessica Hawkey, MD of redAcademy.

Even as South Africa grapples with one of the highest youth unemployment rates globally - with 8.9 million unemployed young people according to Statistics South Africa - traditional approaches to tackling the issue have been met with limited success.

This Women’s Month, we sat down with Jessica Hawkey, Founder and Managing Director of redAcademy to discuss her journey as a Woman in business, what her advice is for fellow females in business and why she has a passion for empowering South Africa’s youth. 

As technology continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace and become infused across all aspects of the business, companies are increasingly under pressure to remain competitive by attracting the best tech talent available. As is seen by large multinationals such as Accenture, General Motors, IBM and LinkedIn, among others, this strategy includes a greater focus on skills-based hiring.

One of the most pressing challenges predicted for the tech industry in 2023, specifically for C-suites trying to keep up with a rapidly digitising world, is that there has been, and will continue to be, a chronic IT skills shortage, especially a shortage of work-ready software developers. Jessica Hawkey, Managing Director at redAcademy shares her insights on how a new outlook on skills development can solve CTO headaches and fast-track coding careers for the tech industry in 2023. 

With the rise of remote working, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, this means that software developers are, and will continue to be, at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution. With South Africa's tech industry continuously evolving, it is critical for our youth to gain key skills to get ahead in the tech industry in 2023. 

As students and their parents look ahead to 2023, it is both an exciting and nerve-wracking time. Will you be able to study or work towards a qualification? What are the options? If you can, how much will it cost, and can you afford it?