Telkom AI Fluency Course | Abridged Knowledge 035 (AK035): Empowering South Africans Through Practical Solutions

The 5 core steps to any career. Use them to build your future.

1. Self-Knowledge (know yourself)

Ask yourself: What do I enjoy? What am I good at? Do you like fixing things, helping people, or working with numbers? Write down three strengths and three things you enjoy.

For AI & ML, typical strengths include analytical thinking, curiosity about how systems work, patience for testing, and comfort with patterns. You do not need to be a maths genius, but you should enjoy puzzles. Be honest, self-knowledge saves years of wrong turns.

2. Career Exploration (learn about the job)

An AI or ML professional writes code in Python to train systems that learn from data. You might build a fraud detection system for a bank, a predictive maintenance tool for a mining company, or a customer service chatbot. One day, you test a model that fails. The next day, you find the bug, and it works. That is the rhythm of the job.

Where do they work? Banks such as FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank. Mining companies. Retailers for demand forecasting. Hospitals for diagnostic tools. Government for smart city projects. Look up day-in-the-life videos on YouTube. Search ‘day in the life of a machine learning engineer’. Message one person on LinkedIn working in AI or data science in South Africa. Ask what they love and what is hard.

3. Goal Setting (decide your direction)

Set a 6-month goal and a 2-year goal.

Example 6-month goal: Finish a free online course in AI basics. Telkom offers a free AI Fluency Course on the Telkom Learn platform, aimed at 100,000 South Africans. WeThinkCode runs a free 40 to 80-hour AI course funded by Google.org for youth aged 18 to 35. They have placed 87% of graduates into tech roles since 2018.

Example 2-year goal: Complete a learnership, build a portfolio of two AI projects (a house price predictor or a spam filter) and apply for an entry job. Write your goals down. Share them with a friend to stay accountable.

4. Skill Development (fill the gap)

What skills do you need for AI & ML?

Technical skills:

Python programming – the main language for AI and machine learning.
SQL – pulling and cleaning data from databases.
Machine learning frameworks – TensorFlow, PyTorch or Scikit-learn.
Statistics and data analysis – understanding patterns and checking model performance.
Data visualisation – showing what you found.

The Occupational Certificate in Artificial Intelligence Software Development (SAQA ID 118792, NQF Level 5) is accredited by the QCTO and MICT SETA. It covers Python, SQL, data scraping, building neural networks and deploying AI systems. The entry requirement is NQF Level 4 (Matric).

Soft skills: Problem-solving, critical thinking, explaining technical ideas to non-technical people, and teamwork.

Where to learn for free or cheap:

Telkom AI Fluency Course – free, 6 hours, on Telkom Learn.
WeThinkCode with Google.org – free AI training, 12,000 spots for South African youth aged 18 to 35.
MICT SETA bursaries – for Master’s and PhD research in AI, machine learning, blockchain and cybersecurity at the University of Cape Town.
AiCerts certifications – international and online, starting from $97.50 (approximately R1 800). Covers AI+, ML+ and ChatGPT+.

Apply to at least three opportunities this month.

5. Action Planning & Execution (do the work)

Make a weekly plan like this:

Monday: Update your CV using ak035.co.za/cv035/

Tuesday: Apply to two learnerships or internships. Search ‘MICT SETA learnership AI’ or ‘WeThinkCode application’.

Wednesday: Watch one YouTube tutorial on Python or machine learning. Complete a small coding exercise.

Thursday: Connect with three people on LinkedIn who work in AI or data science in South Africa. Send a short, respectful message asking one specific question about their work.

Friday: Review your week and celebrate small wins. Finishing a module counts. A job application submitted counts.

References

Payscale. (2025). Average early-career data scientist with SQL skills salary in South Africa. Payscale. Available at: https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Data_Scientist/Salary/e39906fb/Early-Career-SQL (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

Pnet. (2026). The AI shift: Mapping South Africa’s growing AI skills economy. Bizcommunity. Available at: https://www.bizcommunity.co.za/article/the-ai-shift-mapping-south-africas-growing-ai-skills-economy-170796a (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

Telkom Foundation. (2025). Telkom Foundation aims to upskill 100,000 South Africans youths in AI and cybersecurity. TechAfrica News. Available at: https://techafricanews.com/2025/06/17/telkom-foundation-aims-to-upskill-100000-south-africans-youths-in-ai-and-cybersecurity (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

WeThinkCode_. (2025). WeThinkCode_ secures $1.9mln Google grant to expand AI training in South Africa. Zawya. Available at: https://www.zawya.com/en/world/africa/wethinkcode-secures-19mln-google-grant-to-expand-ai-training-in-south-africa-rn3k9jh0 (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

University of Cape Town. (2025). Applications open for MICT SETA research chair bursary. UCT News. Available at: https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2025-04-14-applications-open-for-mict-seta-research-chair-bursary (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

Shuttleworth Academy. (2025). Next Gen Artificial Intelligence Developer (AID): Occupational Certificate – Artificial Intelligence Software Developer (SAQA ID 118792). Shuttleworth Academy. Available at: http://shuttleworthacademy.com/product/next-gen-artificial-intelligence-developer-aid-occupational-certificate-artificial-intelligence-software-developer (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

Microsoft South Africa. (2026). Microsoft and SABC Plus to bring AI and digital skills for millions of South Africans. Microsoft News. Available at: https://news.microsoft.com/source/emea/2026/01/microsoft-and-sabc-plus-set-to-unlock-ai-and-digital-skills-for-millions-of-south-africans (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

Bconsult Skills Hub. (2026). AI certification courses in South Africa 2026: Every province covered. Bconsult. Available at: https://bconsult.co.za/ai-certification-courses-in-south-africa-2026-every-province-covered (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

Telkom Group. (2025). Telkom’s game changing moves to narrow the digital divide. Telkom Group Media Centre. Available at: https://group.telkom.co.za/about-us/mediacentre/currentreleases/2025/Telkoms-game-changing-moves-to-narrow-the-digitaldivide-20250414.html (Accessed: 28 April 2026).