Tshepo Mahloko is a township-kid-to-tech-innovator with a lifelong passion for technology and innovation – and a timely message for youth seeking to build successful and fulfilling careers.
Mahloko works at SAP’s Co-Innovation Lab where he works in partnership with leading African enterprises to help them develop innovative technology solutions to key business problems. He believes every young person starting a career should pursue digital skills to enhance their employability and improve the impact they have in the workplace.
Friday 15 July marks the UN’s World Youth Skills Day, which this year focuses on the theme of ‘transforming youth skills for the future’.
Mahloko expects every job in the future will be shaped by digital technologies, and points out that coding and digital skills are instrumental to the success of nearly every career path.
“The old thinking states that, if you’re not working in the tech industry, there’s no need for digital skills. But whether you’re a doctor, scientist, consultant or climate change expert, every job nowadays is performed at least partly through a computer. And in light of the growing importance of T-shaped skills, every person can benefit from developing digital skills to boost their career and improve their employability.”
T-shaped skills refer to people who possess deep discipline expertise in a specific area (the vertical part of the T) as well as cross-discipline expertise – or breadth of knowledge and skills (the horizontal part of the T). “If you’re a scientist with deep domain knowledge in, for example, climate change, you can augment your skills with for example coding ability and become a T-shaped candidate. Having T-shaped skills also improves your problem-solving capabilities, which makes you more valuable to employers and improves your career prospects.”
Mahloko says young people need a mindset change away from pursuing skills in only one area and should instead build cross-functional skills. “Taking on digital skills can teach you skills that extend beyond tech, for example computational thinking helps you learn how to break down complex problems and see patterns in data. These are skills that can be applied in a huge range of job types.”
He adds that developing digital skills also unlocks earning potential beyond formal employment. “SAP recently started offering local tools that allow citizen developers – that is anyone with a passion for and competence in coding – to build applications on SAP’s platform. People with expertise or interest in specific areas can develop niche solutions that can help other companies better understand a problem or opportunity. The best of these solutions will then receive additional development support to bring them to a state where they can be formally adopted by businesses.”
Where can youth start on their digital skills journey? Mahloko says there are several digital skills initiatives that provide helpful introductions to the basics of coding. “Africa Code Week for example takes place in October every year and gives millions of kids and tens of thousands of teachers an introduction to the basics of coding while inspiring a love for digital. Youth should speak to their schools and encourage them to form part of this year’s program, which will take place virtually and in-person in all African countries.”
Mahloko is available to discuss the role of digital in transforming youth skills for the future, unpack the potential of digital skills in building successful long-term careers, and share more of his personal journey as inspiration to other young people looking to start a career.
