Dr Leona CraffertDr Leona Craffert has been invited by the Department of Communication and Digital Technology to join a collaborative research team consisting of national government officials, industry representatives and a selected group of academia to inform and anchor the development of a Digital Competency Framework for South Africa.
The Department of Communication and Digital Technologies is leading digital transformation at government level for the country, and the development and refinement of a national Digital Competency Framework forms part of the Medium-Term Development Programme (MTDP).
It is a five-year strategic framework (2024–2029) adopted by the Government of National Unity to guide national development efforts and aligns with the goals of the National Development Plan Vision 2030 of digital equality, job creation and poverty alleviation.
A digital competency profile can typically be described as a navigation tool to guide individuals through the complex landscape of skills required in a rapidly evolving digital world.
Such a framework serves multiple purposes: it can assist in conducting large-scale digital skills assessments across different population segments, help establish national digital skills benchmarks such as employability, ensure cross-sectoral alignment in digital skills development and assessment, support workplace upskilling strategies and short-course development, inform strategic digital skills initiatives, and aggregate efforts. The primary aim of the Digital Competency Framework is to guide the structured and coordinated development of digital competencies, from the basic education level through to the post-school education and training system.
Given the systemic significance of the framework, the research team has been tasked with complementing its work through a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process to promote co-design and shared ownership. Key stakeholders include the National Skills Authority, quality assurance bodies such as the Council on Higher Education and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, departments responsible for basic and post-school education, and Sector Education and Training Authorities. The successful development and anchoring of a national Digital Competency Framework will place South Africa on par with developments in, for example, several European countries, Australia, the UK and Canada.
Dr Craffert has long researched the digital economy, social innovation, and digital inclusion. Known for her key role in initiatives such as the GIZ-funded AI Maturity Assessment Framework for South Africa, the study on The competitiveness of large South African companies in the digital economy, and the #SkillsBoostWesternCape initiative - which seeks to position the Western Cape as a leading global digital economy hub by 2030 - she is well-versed in national digital skills development strategies. As a research psychologist, her professional interest in the people-technology interface has consistently focused on enabling individuals, leaders, and institutions. At the CoLab for Digital Inclusion and Social Innovation at the University of the Western Cape, she and her team contribute to building an inclusive and equitable digital society through their research agenda and targeted digital skills interventions in niche areas and within vulnerable communities. One of the CoLab’s flagship initiatives is the UWC-Samsung Future Innovation Lab.
Dr Craffert regards her invitation to participate in this national initiative as not only recognition of her expertise in this field, but also as an acknowledgement of the long-standing contributions of the CoLab on this topic and the pioneering work of Prof Walter Claassen, an honorary member of the CoLab.
Before joining UWC, Dr. Craffert held various positions as Adjunct Professor in Digital Business at the Wits Business School, group manager in a large ICT company and senior research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council.
