Dominic Adriaanse
ENTREPRENEURS, students and young people from Elsies River say they are benefiting from a R2.3 million centre that the provincial government and the City have provided.
THE I-CAN (Interactive Community Access Network) Centre in Elsies River, boasting free internet, forms part of a roll-out of the province’s R1.3 billion broadband plan to connect communities over the next three years.
Elsies River resident Chadd Petersen, 19, said he had been looking for space to record his music after he could not pursue his dream of studying at tertiary level because he had failed Grade 11.
”My uncle told me about the centre and its studio, but when I came here I became interested in the IT and audio-visual courses they offered. What I find interesting is that now we have all the technology and internet available to us here and the course is improving my life. Why would you want to be anywhere else?” said Petersen.
Another resident, Kyle Donson, said he participated in community programmes, but found the I-CAN centre much more welcoming. “I heard about the centre from a friend and it has changed my life as now I am an employee as well, and I want to be an app developer and make something more of my life.”
Centre manager Llewellyn Scholtz said the greater community was understandably more focused on surviving and that self-improvement was often pushed aside.
“As we did not have a launch, there was some uncertainty as to what we were and what we did at our centre. As a pilot programme, it is not just for the youth, but anyone interested in technology.
“We also train teachers as it helps them as well in teaching children. So, with our stakeholders, the provincial and local government, Google and Microsoft, we are offering various courses specialising in areas where we find gaps in the job market,” said Scholtz.
IT programmer Zuandre Coetzee is an instructor in coding and programming courses, and says he is inspired by young people striving to learn technology.
“Coding is the way a person can communicate with a computer, and our aim is creating tools and apps which are useful to our communities. So, we do it in a fun and interactive environment so the students can not feel limited in their space or imagination.”
Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said the programme was still a pilot and various models were being tested in Elsies River, with the best approach to be rolled out later across the Western Cape.
“Our aim is to open a digital access centre in each municipality, offering skills training and spaces for residents and businesses to access affordable internet,” said Winde.