In January 2021, the City of Johannesburg Library and Information Services placed young people on a Digital Transformation Internship programme. The aim was to expose them to library work, 4IR concepts and other digital content, to gain work experience and improve employability and self-employability.

“We recognise the achievements of both graduate interns and relief workers who have not only competed the portfolios and some relevant online courses, but also gained work experience through libraries,” said Director Library and Information Services Nobuntu Mpendulo.

The results of this programme are definitely worth to be celebrated. Among the 90 interns contracted, 30 have degrees and the rest matric certificates.

To date, 56 are still on the programme, 18 were employed outside the City, one succumbed to the dreadful Covid-19 virus and the majority returned to tertiary institutions.

Encouraging the youth, the City of Johannesburg’s Deputy Director of Training and Development, Tersia Groenewald, said: “Do not stop on knocking on doors. Make sure that you are always looking for opportunities. Do not give up.”

The interns will leave the City with experience and digital skills to set them up in the market or being self-employed.

“It has been a long, exciting road of more than seven years since we embarked on this digital transformation process, with the introduction of eLearning services, including free WI-FI in libraries,” concluded Mpendulo.

The community is responding positively to the smart city vision of bridging the digital divide among citizens and enabling citizens to gain access to the knowledge economy and the digital economy.

Takalani Moleri, an intern at Halfway House in Midrand, said: “I thank the City for giving me an opportunity to work in the library digital space. I studied Public Administration with the intention to better understand how government works and use my studies to improve the library system.”

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