Johannesburg, Apr 19 (PTI) The South African subsidiary of India-based multinational IT company Zensar Technologies has been lauded for assisting the country in addressing its skills shortage as it marked the 1,000th internship of young locals.

The key objective of this initiative, started in 2008, is to train and prepare local youth with the latest ICT skillsets. They are taught International tech skills like automation, cloud, and software testing by world-class trainers from India and South Africa.

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They are also exposed to local and international projects that result in real-world experience.

"It is heartening to see companies like Zensar taking the lead in bringing value to the youth of this country. Globally, South Africa is slowly taking centre stage regarding its talent, which holds great potential in the ICT space. We wholly support building skills needed tomorrow,” said chief guest, Consul General Mahesh Kumar, at an event to celebrate the occasion.

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Kumar said Indian companies invested in South Africa all supported the Indian government's initiatives to develop local skills for sustainability, rather than just exploiting the resources of a country like some other foreign countries.

Kumar said Indian businesses in South Africa are pursuing a multidimensional approach with a long-term vision of growth in the African country according to the local conditions.

“Indian investments in diverse sectors of the South African economy have created thousands of local jobs, wealth and economic opportunity for local businesses. Indian businesses have contributed to building local capacity,” Kumar said as he lauded the pioneering initiative of Zensar.

“The interns' success reflects Zensar's commitment to cultivating a culture of excellence, growth, and opportunity for the youth of South Africa. I think South Africa is poised for great things. From a technology perspective, not only do we train the local talent, but use the local talent globally,” said Manish Tandon, CEO and Managing Director of Zensar, who flew in from the US, especially for the event.

Commenting on this milestone, Harish Lala, Senior Vice President and Head of Africa, Zensar Technologies, said that since its inception over two decades ago, one of the key focus areas for the company in South Africa has been to bring global expertise and knowledge to the local community, as well as investing in and building IT and digital skills in the country.

“As a company coming from India, we have taken the responsibility of bringing together our partners, which include a host of major South African companies, and IT from India to add value to the young associates that have gone through this programme.

"It gives us great pride when we see these graduates becoming senior professionals in their careers and adding value to our programme,” Lala said.

Zensar has been in South Africa since 2001, with operations in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. The company was recently awarded the 2023 Top Employer in South Africa for the second consecutive year.

“For India and South Africa, you are becoming part of what I call a ‘human bridge' between our two great nations. The time spent in India will prepare you to speak for South Africa in India and for India in South Africa.

"You will be advocates of India- South Africa friendship and our ambassadors on global forums,” Kumar told the latest batch of interns who will be going to India from South African insurance giant Old Mutual.

“Your country is a regional hub and supply base to other African countries. This means, a lot of opportunities,” Kumar said as he highlighted how the services sectors in South Africa suffered from skills shortages in several IT-related fields.

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