Microsoft and South Africa’s Higher Education Department Join Forces to Bridge the Digital Skills Gap

The Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, is pleased to announce a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on AI and digital skills development between the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)  and Microsoft South Africa. 

This marks the third public-private partnership agreement that Deputy Minister Gondwe has secured since taking office in July last year. Since assuming office, the Deputy Minister has actively championed public-private partnerships as a means to address the country’s high unemployment rate.

The Microsoft MoU aims to address the digital skills gap and ensure that students are equipped with the skills demanded by the economy.

Deputy Minister Gondwe officiated the MoU signing ceremony on behalf of the DHET at Microsoft South Africa’s headquarters in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 7 October 2025.

“I’m very excited to see this MoU with Microsoft come to fruition. It will significantly enhance skills development in our TVETs through Microsoft’s one-year AI engineering programme and the wider Digital Literacy courses. Digital and AI skills are essential for navigating the modern world and securing future employment opportunities. It is crucial that our students are prepared for the job market once they exit our sector and have the right skills for employability including self-employment and entrepreneurship.”

– Dr Mimmy Gondwe, The Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, South Africa

“We believe that digital fluency is foundational to inclusive economic growth, and this MoU with the Department of Higher Education marks a pivotal step in closing the skills gap and ensuring that students across the country are equipped not just for employment, but for innovation, leadership and impact in a digital economy. By aligning curricula with industry demand and expanding access to future-ready tools, we are investing in a generation that will shape South Africa’s resilience and competitiveness for decades to come.”

– Asif Valley, National Technology Officer (NTO), Microsoft South Africa

The MoU covers AI and digital skills development in the following focus areas:

• TVET Colleges
• Microsoft will offer its self-paced Microsoft AI Engineer programme to TVET colleges, providing a one-year, short, blended learning course to train students.
• Microsoft to avail training content, guidance for programme facilitators, and provide mentoring to TVET colleges.
• Microsoft will collaborate with industry partners to support the enablement of TVET colleges on the Microsoft AI Engineer programme.

AI in leadership training

Microsoft will offer short courses on AI in Leadership Training to all TVET college principals and DHET senior leadership.

Education Transformation Framework Project (ETF)

Through the MoU, Microsoft will collaborate with DHET on the Education Transformation Framework Project (ETF), which assists education leaders in navigating sector changes by developing strategies on leadership, policy, teaching, and learning to ensure student success.

General Digital Skills Programme

Microsoft will partner with DHET to enhance students’ digital skills through the Digital Literacy programme.The MoU will be executed and carried out over a period of three years.