Transform education to avert jobs bloodbath – Sikhanyiso
DUBAI, UAE – In about 10 years time, there will be less need for human beings on the job front largely due to the automation of services.
Therefore, the country has to make a dramatic shift in its education system by skewing the curriculum towards creative skills training as opposed to the current academic approach, Minister of Information Communition and Technology (ICT) Princess Sikhanyiso has advised.
Speaking at an investment seminar on Thursday, the minister made reference to a World Economic Forum report, which has revealed that 85 million jobs will be lost by the year 2025 due to automation and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“According to the report, currently 30 per cent of jobs are being performed by technology and 70 per cent by humans. That ratio is set to shift to 50/50 in three years time, which means that in about 10 years time there will be no need for humans,” she said.
The minister also shared that other studies had found that doctors and nurses may be hard to replace because one cannot replace human touch or empathy as robots can’t do both.
“However, in a few years time, with the mining industry, it will be safer and more cost-effective to use technology. So with machine learning and artificial intelligence, it would be important for us to shift our mindset as a government to make our education system more creative than academic,” urged Princess Sikhanyiso.
She said this shift automatically creates a need for investment in the ICT skills development space, which she invited business executives from the technology-advanced United Arab Emirates (UAE) to explore.
FACILITY
She further shared that the country had a facility that could be used for this transformation in the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP).
“That park is responsible for driving economic growth and offering the best incentives to investors. You have a tax-free holiday for 20 years and thereafter pay five per cent. You also have a business incubation park where you have start-up technology incentives there as well.
“There is also a national data centre where you can house any information, as well as a call centre where you can off-shore your telecoms business or whatever to Eswatini and also set up your IT companies there,” she explained.
The minister informed the audience that a one-stop shop for electronic government services was about to be completed.
“Electronic governments, as you know, are inter-operable services that work with unified devices so that every ministry in government is connected and all the processes of service delivery happen smoothly.
“I would like to say more, but come to Eswatini for the ICT sector; you have the movie production incentive as well. The UAE is participating in Hollywood and in other places, but Africa is a jewel, Eswatini in particular, for our culture and our ICT systems and infrastructure services, which are excellent,” she said.
The attendees were also informed of the country’s internet usage, which has 92 per cent coverage across the country while the smart mobile penetration is 131 per cent, which means there are 1.3 gadgets per individual in Eswatini, allowing space for widening the communication sector for broadband access and more.
The minister said the ICT ministry would like to advocate for many things, with the main one being to participate in building the economy through science, technology, engineering and mathematics literacy.