The fixed application windows of the Digital Skills Impact Fund have been scrapped and employers of entry-level digital skills and digital skills training providers can apply at any time for financial support for programmes that result in recognised digital qualifications and permanent employment for youth, says National Digital Skills Plan coordinating body Collective X.
The move away from funding windows reflects the growth and maturity of the Digital Skills Impact Fund since its launch in 2024. To date, more than 1 800 young people have participated, or are currently participating, in programmes supported through the fund across all nine provinces.
Through training aligned to the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) and work-integrated learning (WIL), the young people move into quality employment, with 97% of participants absorbed into employment, and with more than 75% of them employed after only six months.
The SFIA is the international standard used by employers to describe technology roles and skill levels.
South Africa currently produces about 20 000 digitally skilled workers a year. Under the National Digital Skills Plan, Collective X is working to double that to more than 40 000 a year by 2030, and to help 500 000 young people into in-demand digital roles by 2034.
