MTN Group is adding an artificial intelligence-powered job board to its digital training platform as the telecommunications company seeks to connect young Africans with employment opportunities amid rising demand for technology skills.
The new feature on the MTN Skills Academy, launched to coincide with International Youth Day, combines job discovery, skills assessment, training recommendations and application tracking, moving the platform beyond conventional vacancy listings.
The Job Board will be available across the 11 MTN markets where the Skills Academy operates and will recommend vacancies based on users’ skills, location and career goals. Learners can also compare their capabilities with job requirements and receive recommendations for free courses where additional training could improve their suitability for a role.
The move comes as employers across Africa face a growing need for digital capabilities. More than 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to require digital skills by 2030, according to the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.
Africa has the world’s youngest population, with more than 60% of its people under the age of 25, but young workers continue to face barriers to entering formal employment.
“This year’s theme, ‘Different Contexts, Common Aspirations’, reflects a reality we see across our markets. Young people start from different circumstances, but they share the need for relevant skills and clearer routes to opportunity,” Marina Madale, MTN Group Executive for Sustainability and Shared Value, said.
“Digital and financial inclusion becomes more economically meaningful when it helps people participate in the economy. Strengthening the path from skills to work requires action across business, government and education. For MTN, the Job Board gives further practical expression to our commitment to digital and economic inclusion by connecting learning, skills and opportunity.”
The platform will carry vacancies from employers across Africa, allowing users to browse and filter positions, review requirements, save jobs and monitor applications through interview and offer stages.
MTN launched the Skills Academy in 2022 to provide training in areas including digital literacy, coding, data analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship.
The platform has recorded almost 526,000 enrolments and 192,000 course completions across its 11 markets, while learners have completed 1,122 specialisations, according to MTN.
The company is also incorporating accessibility features into the Academy to enable people with visual, cognitive, neurological and mobility-related needs, as well as older users, to access its learning programmes.
Digital certificates issued through the platform are intended to provide learners with authenticated evidence of completed training that can be presented to prospective employers.
The job board effectively creates a link between three stages of the employment process, learning a skill, identifying a suitable job and demonstrating readiness for that role.
