Strengthening Skills development through ICT & e-Learning to enhance Youth employability to fight hunger & Pover

1. 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

2. Location of Swaziland on the map of Southern Africa

3. 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 US$2.29 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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

9. Group Photo of ICT Teachers

10. 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

11. Thank You