The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) has received three major sponsorships for 2024 IITPSA Skills Survey, the IITPSA Computer Olympiads and the prestigious IITPSA President's Awards.

Senele Goba, President of the IITPSA, says: “We are grateful to have secured sponsorship of three of our flagship events from SoftwareOne. This support enables us to expand the reach and impact of these important initiatives and strengthens our stakeholder engagements, especially with organisations that share the values of the IITPSA”

Marilyn Moodley, Director, and Country Lead for South Africa and WECA at SoftwareOne, says: “It is an honour and a privilege for us to partner with a prestigious organisation like the IITPSA. We recognise the importance of the Institute’s work, and this makes it an attractive alignment for us. SoftwareOne has chosen to sponsor the IITPSA events not only for the synergies between the two organisations but also both our commitments towards ethics, professionalism and transparency. We believe IT skills development is crucial for growing South Africa’s economy.”

The sponsorship of the IITPSA President’s Awards aligns with SoftwareOne’s focus on excellence and unlocking the value of IT, with the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity, never losing sight of its impact on the planet and communities, Moodley says.

These values also informed the sponsorship of the flagship IT Skills Survey, she says. “This is an important reference, with broad impacts and benefits for all businesses. Understanding deficits in the market helps us to build skills pipelines and fill the gaps where the shortages are and drives an understanding of what IT professionals need to do to upskill and meet future market needs. We are honoured to work with the IITPSA to help understand and define South Africa’s IT skills environment.”

SoftwareOne, which manages software licenses for numerous TVET colleges and tertiary education institutions, works closely with the education sector and is deeply committed to helping build South Africa’s IT skills pipeline. In line with this, SoftwareOne has run a bursary programme in South Africa for the past three years. “This year, 206 local students – mostly studying in the IT field – received bursaries and experiential training through SoftwareOne’s bursary programme,” she says.

The company also understands the importance of digital exposure and skills development for young children. “We believe it is critical for children to have access to digital technologies and develop digital literacy early, which is why we also support the IITPSA Olympiads,” she says.

The IITPSA Computer Olympiad’s national Talent Search inspires interest and identifies STEMI aptitude from early learning stage, while the Programming and Applications Olympiads expose older learners to more advanced computing.

The annual Olympiads are currently underway and nominations for the 2024 IITPSA President’s Awards will open soon.  To be staged with the theme ‘Celebrating leaders in ethical digital transformation, this year’s IITPSA President’s Awards highlight the importance of keeping ethics at the heart of digital transformation.