Automation: The Answer to South Africa’s Skills Shortage

In a 2019 report, Pew Research estimated some 900,000 people born in South Africa were living abroad in 2017, and that these expatriates are mostly skilled professionals. Once the Covid-19 pandemic began, in March 2020, even more people left the country, with thousands of South Africans emigrating to distant shores. South Africa’s skills shortage is preventing the country from achieving five percent annual GDP growth – this growth is the country’s only real chance of recovering from the pandemic and making a real dent in poverty.

All is not lost, however, as independent telco ICTGlobe.com believes technology will help solve South Africa’s myriad challenges,

“From anti-crime cameras deployed with great effect in our cities, to world-class computational systems that ensure we run better elections than much of the developed world, information and communications technology (ICT) is becoming the bedrock of our society, says Lucien Brink, Executive Head of Products and Services at ICTGlobe.com. “ICT will provide a strong and lasting foundation for the future growth of South Africa.”

Much of this growth, though, depends on local companies’ success in automating their ICT systems.

“By automating, you’re essentially freeing up human resources to focus on their own growth and development,” explains Mr Brink. “Business automation is the catalyst for the upskilling of entry-level staff. Why have a human being repeatedly undertaking the same routine tasks when a machine can accomplish these tasks? This frees up the organization to develop employees into more valuable, and more fulfilled, team members. Automation makes it so we can develop our people.”

When it comes to the regular ordering of ICT services by reseller small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that sell them onto other businesses and end-user consumers, automation really comes into its own. This is particularly true when the reseller knows what it needs and can easily place these regular orders via an online system.

“A few clicks can cut out unnecessary quotations and paperwork that only waste time and money,” Mr. Brink says.

Automating ordering systems frees up sales teams to focus on customer service and training new salespeople without getting tied up in manual processes. Machines can process orders while team members focus on after-sales client happiness.

ICTGlobe.com’s ability to automate business solutions, through platforms like ‘The Ninja’, comes from its many years of building solid ICT solutions and white-labeled support structures. Single-view online portals empower SMEs that want to be successful in the ICT market by getting on with the business of winning, pleasing and retaining customers.

ICTGlobe.com owns its own Tier 1 telecoms network, meaning the company has full control over this core asset; operating its own interconnect and networking facilities means the firm can reliably offer voice calls at competitive rates. Guaranteed voice and data services uptime is underpinned by the company’s investment in a Tier 3 rated Data Centre and presence in offsite data centres that offer clients additional redundancy. For more information about how we can empower your SME, contact us, info@ictglobe.com.

‍