Government will, through the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), coordinate its efforts to ensure that South Africans derive an economic spin off from the revolution, says Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
The commission will serve as a national overarching advisory mechanism on digital transformation.
It will identify and recommend policies, strategies and plans that will position South Africa as a global competitive player within the digital revolution space.
The Minister said South Africa is ready in terms of skills to adapt to the 4IR.
“We are also enhancing the skills, we do have qualified people but there are certain skills that we do not have. We have launched a campaign of training one million data scientists (between 2019 and 2030),” she said.
The Minister emphasised the importance of changing the country’s education system in an effort to adapt to the 4IR.
In addition to the Presidential 4IR commission, the Minister is looking at establishing a work stream of young innovators who can assist the government in solving challenges through technology.
Ndabeni-Abrahams on Friday delivered the keynote address at the Cyberlaw workshop hosted by Orizur, a cyberlaw consulting enterprise.
The workshop was aimed at empowering delegates on general aspects of cyber law including information and communications technology (ICT) contract management, 4IR technological developments, cybersecurity for both business and individuals as well as the importance of intellectual property rights. – SAnews.gov.za
