Microsoft South Africa, the local subsidiary of the US-based technology company, has placed 64 graduates from a digital skills training programme into long-term employment roles across 11 South African government departments. The placements are part of Microsoft's equity equivalent investment programme, known as an EEIP.
EEIPs exist for multinational companies whose global ownership structures or corporate policies prevent them from meeting the ownership requirement of South Africa's broad-based black economic empowerment policy, known as B-BBEE, through the standard route of selling equity or shares to black South Africans. Technology companies that cannot sell local shares can instead invest in local small, medium and micro enterprises, fund digital skills training, build infrastructure, or support black-owned suppliers. Microsoft and several companies in the automotive industry have made EEIP commitments.
Microsoft said the placement programme is intended to address a long-standing shortage of practical digital skills inside government departments. Each graduate holds a minimum NQF Level 7 qualification and is tasked with automating processes and digitising workflows to help departments move toward a more paperless operating model.
The graduates are employed for three years, with Microsoft funding their salaries and ongoing professional development through June 2028.
Lerato Mathabatha, public sector director at Microsoft South Africa, described the broader pressure facing government departments: "Government is under increasing pressure to deliver services that are more accessible, predictive and responsive to citizens' needs. Cloud and artificial intelligence technologies are already helping departments reimagine service delivery, but sustainable transformation is enabled and scaled through public-private partnerships, where these platforms are paired with skilled people inside government who can build, adapt and scale solutions."
Since being onboarded, the graduates have been embedded within departmental teams, working directly on active automation and digital transformation projects. Before placement, each participant completed a Microsoft expert-level technical certification in the Power Platform course, which provided them with low-code and no-code skills for building tools intended to reduce administrative bottlenecks, improve data visibility and modernise service delivery.
Microsoft said the programme is also intended to address employment challenges in South Africa. Lebogang Luvuno, B-BBEE executive at Microsoft South Africa, connected the placements to a broader approach to digital transformation: "Sustainable digital transformation depends on more than skills development in isolation. It requires meaningful employment pathways that connect training to real operational environments. Through the EEIP, we are creating jobs, enabling immediate contribution to government modernisation, and building a pipeline of digital professionals who can grow long-term careers in public service."
