As RPA and intelligent automation proliferates globally as an important business tool, government programs are increasingly looking to the technology as a place for reskilled unemployed workers. Public entities around the world have implemented RPA and have seen both the opportunity it provides as an employment source and the threat it could pose to workers who might be automated out of a job. They simultaneously are attempting to address a troubling global tech talent shortage.
A recent example of the phenomenon was announced in South Africa. The government there worked with UiPath to develop a national qualification in RPA to “boost upskilling and reskilling among existing employees and lower barrier of entry for young people into tech jobs.”
South Africa’s Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA), the Quality Council For Trades & Occupations (QCTO), and local educators worked with the New York City-based RPA provider to develop the program introducing a generation of potential workers to the burgeoning technology.
“We are hopeful that by means of this qualification, we will bridge the current shortage of skilled labor within the ICT and digital industries and ultimately, increase the youth employment rate in South Africa,” said Matome Madibana, CEO of MICT SETA. “It is important for all stakeholders to come together and ensure South Africa will have people with the skills to innovate and exploit Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. Perhaps, most importantly, it will provide those whose jobs face redundancy to be reskilled.”
UiPath said RPA developers certified through the program will be able to create intelligent automation solutions that emulate human actions during the project development stage using platform knowledge and data analysis capabilities.