As the students of the nation gears up for the final exams of the year, many have to make the very important decision of a career choice. In a well attended 1000 plus student event recently held at the Central Johannesburg College in Ellis Park, OTEL Telecoms had the opportunity to showcase its OTEL Academy which was met with great success.

SA’s VoIP Guru and OTELs Certified Trainer, Paul Colmer, presented an informative overview of the Academys’ Prospectus. The talk was preceded by OTEL Telecoms CEO, Mohammad Patel, who introduced the students to the South African Telecoms industry, it’s benefits and its potential.

OTEL Telecoms VoIP Academy has partnered with Centre of Employment and Entrepreneurship Development (CEED) to promote the telecoms industry amongst the national colleges and universities nationwide. Colmer will be presenting to the colleges in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth by VIP invitation of SNMBICT ( SEDA Nelson Mandela Bay ICT  incubator ). He will also be speaking to the Cisco Students at the Troyeville College.

Paul Colmer comments “This is great because of its natural progression, and we can relate at a higher level as they are certifying on Cisco. OTEL Academy has committed to liaise and assist in regard to sealing the bond between the academic community that CEED runs and the necessary interface into the cooperates for both sponsorship and the necessary social responsibility programmes they desire.”

With government funded incubatorship programmes, OTEL Academy has already qualified Ngoy Banza, a prolific student with a heart to become and established name in South Africa’s Telecom Industry. There are many more in the pipeline, with OTEL Academy signing up no less than 200 potential candidates on the day whom will undergo the preliminary process.

OTEL Telecoms Social Responsibility is increasing with it growth. The academy was formed due to the lack of skills in the telecoms sector, particularly when it came to Telephone 2.0 generation. VoIP and Broadband form an important part in the country’s future. Without skills, the industry will suffer slow growth. OTEL promotes entrepreneurship where it gives support to qualified students to open their own telecoms business and create jobs, rather than wait in line for a job to become available. This strategy is backed by OTEL’s hugely successful Channel Partnership programme.

Mohammad Patel concludes “OTELs commitment to the industry is second to none. At personal as well as corporate level, we dedicate time and effort to ensure the telecoms industry prospers to meet European and American standards. The aim is to change the mind-set of our youth. They should not be despondent when facing the real life challenges of finding a job when they can establish their own identity and enterprise in a vibrant telecoms industry. ”

OTEL’s Academy is soon starting its 4th  session in Johannesburg.

The presentation video of the Artisan Career Fair 2012 can be found on OTELs Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/OTELAFRICA