Gift Sereo, a 24-year-old man from Kanana township outside Orkney in the North West Province, said the Information Technology (IT) finalist in a competition he was part of in South Korea. He said this was a challenging yet a great personal experience. He was inspired to help South Africa catch up with international standards in terms of technology after travelling to South Korea to compete in a competition meant to search for the finest IT techniques in the world.
Sereo graduated from Vuselela TVET College in Jouberton Campus, in the IT Network Administration, which led him to win gold when competing in the National World Skills Competition in Durban in June last year. Winning the competition was his ticket to represent South Africa at the 2022 World Skills International Competition in October last year, where he took part in the IT network systems and administration category.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from because everything is possible. It’s as simple as putting forth the effort and not taking things for granted," said Seroe. The young man, who said he knew he did not want to do any hard labour and chose to study IT, said he felt a bit intimidated by the competition as his competitors who had been exposed to IT and computers since childhood.
Sereo also indicated that, even though he did not win anything in South Korea, he realized South Africa needed to catch up in many areas of skills and technology. "For a country to successfully transition into the 4th Industrial Revolution, young people must get skills transferred as early as possible. I came back with the knowledge that I want to use to help advance my country,” Sereo said.
He said South Africa's unified approach to teaching IT was outdated and that the country should adopt the methods used in Asian countries as IT continues to expand in South Africa, where there is just one curriculum. South Africa, he said, should now consider what Asian nations are doing to modify its curriculum.
Sereo added that in Korea, they ensure that young children acquire skills that will be useful in the workplace and that South Africa should ensure that pupils are aware of topics that would not help them when they graduate. "Students in Korea are already working in large IT firms and have been doing this from a young age. If South Africa begins building up learners at a young age, there will be huge progress in the country," he stated.
Being a young man coming from Kanana, a township known for gangsterism and all sorts of crime, Sereo said he has learned a lot from South Korea, and he is now left to work on his skills daily, indicating that success is not owned but rented, and the rent is due every day.
He is also determined to direct initiatives to introduce youth in his area to IT and establish a facility where young children can learn and practice the field first-hand. Sereo works as an intern at the Vuselela TVET College Jouberton Campus.
