MTN Adds AI-Powered Job Board to Skills Academy

MTN has added an AI-enabled Job Board to its Skills Academy, bringing job discovery, skills-gap analysis and application tracking into the same platform where users complete training. The Job Board is available across the 11 markets where the Skills Academy operates. It recommends vacancies based on a learner’s skills, location and career goals. Users can filter roles, review requirements, save vacancies and track applications through interviews and offers.

A key feature is the link between job requirements and training. When a learner does not meet all the requirements for a vacancy, the platform recommends free Skills Academy courses that can help address the identified skills gap.

Connecting Skills to Employment

The new feature targets a challenge facing many digital skills programmes: helping learners move from completing courses to finding work.

More than 60% of Africa’s population is under 25, while the International Finance Corporation estimates that more than 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030.

MTN Group President Ralph Mupita has previously warned that Africa could develop a “digital underclass” if the continent does not move quickly to improve AI readiness.

Youth employment remains another concern. The International Labour Organization reported that global youth unemployment reached 12.4% in 2025, while Northern Africa recorded a rate of 22.6%. The organisation linked part of the challenge to declining opportunities in middle-skilled clerical, administrative and sales roles.

Marina Madale, MTN Group Executive for Sustainability and Shared Value, said the new feature responds to the need for clearer links between training and employment.

“Digital and financial inclusion becomes more economically meaningful when it helps people participate in the economy,” Madale said. “Strengthening the path from skills to work requires action across business, government and education.”

MTN Skills Academy Expands

Launched in 2022, the Skills Academy offers training in areas including digital literacy, coding, data analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship.

MTN reports nearly 526,000 enrolments, with 192,000 course completions and 1,122 completed specialisations across its 11 markets. The figures also show a significant difference between enrolment and deeper course completion. Around 36% of enrolments have resulted in completed courses, while specialisations account for a much smaller share of total enrolments.

The Job Board adds an employment component to the existing training platform. However, MTN has not disclosed employment placement figures for Skills Academy learners. Those outcomes will provide a clearer measure of whether the new feature is helping users move from training into jobs.

Accessibility and Digital Credentials

The Skills Academy also includes accessibility features designed for people with visual, cognitive, neurological and mobility-related needs, as well as older users. Learners can also receive certified digital credentials that provide authenticated evidence of completed training and specialisations. The Job Board gives the Skills Academy a more direct link to employment. Learners can now move from completing courses to searching for relevant vacancies, while the platform identifies skills gaps and recommends training to address them.