Joburg’s JEDI programme wants to educate 1k digital interns this year

The City of Johannesburg recently held an induction ceremony for the first 250 digital interns of the total 1 000 it plans to train this year under its JEDI (Joburg Educating Digital Interns) programme.

Launched in February this year, the coding ninja programme will run over 10 months, offering four months of bootcamp type technical training and six months in-service training within the city and some of the country’s leading digital enterprises.

Zolani Matebese, the head of broadband at the City of Johannesburg, says that the City’s investment is significant not only in terms of financial outlay, but that it has significant potential to transform the lives of the interns and people in the city:

These first 250 interns represent tangible action to back this up. The leadership and innovation training has begun and the students have high levels of energy and appreciation to be on the largest learnership programme the City of Johannesburg have embarked on.

The students are predominantly from previously disadvantaged communities and 45% are young women.

As noted in the press release, interns who choose the Network Engineering course will obtain either Microsoft or Cisco credentials. The Web Design & Development course will teach the interns how to use HTML and CSS.

The fibre optical certification validates an individual’s ability to deploy optical communications. The course includes fibre layout, splicing, and testing. Finally, all students conclude the programme with personal development training which equips them with the foundational skills to either enter the corporate market or start their own business as a Jozi entrepreneur.

“Once the initiative is rolling, the job of the digital interns will be to spread out into their communities to show people how to access contracts, facilities, government services and information on state tenders,” Matebese.