South Africa's Department of Communications is launching a new IT training program to address the country's skills shortage in this industry.

Designed to produce workplace-ready graduates, the National e-Skills Dialogue Initiative will develop skills, find employment for candidates and support career learning.

Focusing on different categories of IT development, the initiative will attempt to improve IT user skills, business skills, e-literacy and IT practitioner abilities.

Joe Makhafola, spokesman for the Department of Communications, believes South Africa's current shortage in IT professionals is "serious".

He said: "A national programme is urgently required to achieve a large scale improvement in the supply of those ICT skills for which there is a need in industry, but also in society generally."

The dialogue initiative will be supported by a range of industry sectors, including businesses, academic institutions, social partners and the public sector.

South Africa also has a server shortage of qualified engineers, which is straining the country's infrastructure projects.© Adfero Ltd