Design thinking is an iterative process that diverse teams use to understand users as well as problems, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to and test those solutions with various stakeholders and subsequently develop implementation strategies. It involves various phases and is most useful to tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown.

The 4IR is premised on exponential changes that were brought about by the constant evolution of digital technology. Digital transformation is changing the way we live and work, which influences business practices and the world we live in. In today’s world, technological capabilities are constantly improving and to stay relevant, the workforce must be upskilled continuously for organisations to be agile and innovative as they integrate these digital technologies into their business practices.

Using design thinking to support an organisation’s digital transformation helps reframe and solve complex problems by using a people-centred, creative, hands-on approach to interact with consumers and suppliers to understand challenges and innovate solutions. Today, data provide the information that initiates the design thinking process. People with design thinking skills are needed and there is a growing demand as businesses evolve constantly into the digital space. Through demonstrating innovation, the Design Thinking Practitioner can apply these methodologies for creative and innovative solutions to complex problems and the changes brought by digitalisation.
A recent study on digital transformation by Dell unveils most organisations are unprepared:

• 45% fear becoming obsolete in 3-5 years.
• 48% are unaware of what their industry will look like in 3 years.
• only 7% are classified as Digital Leaders.

This illustrates the need to enable the workforce and businesses to operate in the digital environment and that the ability to do so will have a positive economic and social impact. By proactively adjusting and upskilling, organisations can leverage digital technology to successfully participate in the local and global economy.

This part-qualification opens the employment of Design Thinking Practitioner to other sectors, e.g., art, engineering and so forth. It provides opportunities to any person to augment his/her career with the addition of design thinking skills for creating innovative solutions to complex or ambiguous problems without having to skill themselves as team leaders or coaching. This will enable learners to exit at an appropriate level with sufficient skills to exit learning and earn an income as a Design Thinking Practitioner, as well as providing a seamless entry into the Occupational Certificate: Design Thinking Innovation Lead. It therefore also reduces the timeframe of learning before a learner can become employable. Being a part qualification, these skills can be accessible to any industry.

There is currently a registered qualification on the NQF, namely the Higher Certificate in Design Thinking which was analysed and was found not to be like the Occupational Certificate: Design Thinking Innovation Lead because the qualification Higher Certificate focuses on creative arts. Furthermore, the registration end-date is 2021-06-30 and it is a provider specific qualification registered within the HEQSF. The essential embedded knowledge of the Higher Certificate in Design Thinking seems to be only 10% similar.

Benefits to economy: This qualification affords organisations (such as Government, Public and Private Entities, Education and NGOs) to grow innovation and design thinking skills in their quest to advance the economy. Various industries, such as media, information, communication, advertising, health, education and electronics, augmented reality, animation, digital design, and education technology (EdTech) will benefit from employing Design Thinking Practitioners to apply innovation practices that lead to sustainable innovative solutions to problems. With empathy as one of the core principles for innovation, human centred design thinking enables the organisation to continuously sense and detect and build for the future while responding to customer needs quicker than they are able to change.

Benefits to society: Design thinking addresses the needs of the people who will consume a product or service and the infrastructure that enables it. Through the application of human centred methodologies, Design Thinking Practitioners contribute to an organisation’s ability to design experiences that are truly centred around its customers’ latent and unconscious needs. Design thinking principles enable the design of digital learning solutions to provide access to quality education to all learners irrespective of economical or demographic circumstances, e.g., current education challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design Thinking Practitioners can also help organisations to create the right environment for real and much broader understanding of the voice of the customer. It helps move beyond the monologue of research and, if incorporating prototyping and testing, begins an ongoing process of dialogue with current and potential customers.

The ICT sector will benefit from including design thinking skills into the various 4IR developed or qualifications to be developed including artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, robotic process automation (RPA), quality test automation, e-waste management, cyber security and data science.

Typical learners include school leavers, graduates from TVET colleges and other learning institutions, those currently employed without formal recognition of competencies, those who want to upskill themselves for future challenges or who want to make a career change and any unemployed person.

No professional registration or licencing is expected for Design Thinking Practitioners to find employment in the sector.

Design Thinking Practitioners can find employment as innovation solution developers (in any sector where design thinking skills can be applied) or become entrepreneurs.