Nedbank remains committed to tackling youth unemployment
14 June 2021
Nedbank Group this Youth Month welcomed 1 905 previously unemployed youth, who will start their 12-month Youth Employment Service (YES) journey with Nedbank and its sponsored implementation partners.
YES, born out of the CEO Initiative, was officially launched in March 2018 by President Ramaphosa as part of a collective effort to address the youth unemployment crisis facing our country. Nedbank first participated in the initiative in 2019 by employing the youth through various roles within Nedbank and partnering organisations.
While the Covid-19 pandemic put a temporary hold on the rollout of the 2020 Nedbank YES programme, it also reiterated the urgent need to find a solution for the youth unemployment crisis in South Africa.
"The COVID-19 has put a spotlight on how youth are disproportionately affected by economic inactivity and unemployment. With the youth unemployment rate in South Africa during 2020 estimated at about 55,75%, it was important for Nedbank to continue participating in the YES initiative. The jobs and partnerships that are created are sustainable, impact the community where the youth are based, and upskill the youth with scarce resources that enable them to find work in the job market once they have completed the 12-month programme," says Deb Fuller Nedbank Group Executive of Human Resources.
Government's theme for Youth Month is 'growing youth employment for an inclusive and transformed society'. "As we commemorate Youth Month and reflect on the impact youth have had in the past, we understand that we must play our role in ensuring they have the tools to shape our future," says Fuller.
"The aim is not only to empower the youth with a new skill and job experience, but also to ensure that the communities from which they come benefit from this initiative. We know there are certain barriers that the youth face when they try to enter the job market in a normal environment. These challenges have intensified during the global pandemic, as job scarcity has increased," she continues.
2021 implementation partners
The 1 905 youth in the 2021 programme are placed at Nedbank and its implementation partners WILDTRUST, ORT SA, Youth@work, Conservation SA and R’Labs. With the focus on introducing new, scarce skills to the youth, some of the recruits placed at Nedbank will gothrough a digital skills development programme that will prepare them for entry-level careers in cloud computing. Details of the programme will be shared in the coming weeks.
Nedbank’s implementation partner WILDTRUST has employed most (1 109) of the youth through the WILDTRUST’s terrestrial and marine programmes (WILDLANDS and WILDOCEANS). Recruits are placed across Mpumalanga, Western and Eastern Cape as well as KwaZulu-Natal. The jobs created are within the fields of office administration, environmental education, marketing and communications, land care, eco-tourism and sustainability, conservation and early childhood development. Youth placed in these sustainable impact projects will be offered diverse and unique opportunities to immerse themselves in an experiential journey that will (directly or indirectly) impact the environment for the better.
Ensuring workplace readiness
One of the goals of the YES programme is to ensure that the recruits are ready for the work market once they have completed their 12-month programme. To conclude their journey, an exit strategy was implemented for 2019 recruits. An internal review of the YES Youth’s talent profiles, including performance in the roles they fulfilled during 2019/20, was put together and a Marketplace booklet with these profiles was shared with various recruitment agencies in Nedbank’s external networks to promote the youth. Recruits also received material to help them prepare for future job interviews, compile a proper CV and advance in entrepreneurship by finding opportunities in their communities.
At the end of the 2019 programme, 591 of the recruits were permanently placed within Nedbank and its implementation partners.
Fuller encourages more organisations to take part in this initiative and emphasises that the youth are passionate and eager to learn. "Seeing their passion and commitment only further illustrates that the YES initiative is needed in more organisations," she says. "Our hope is that by giving these young people their first job, they will go on to become inspiring leaders and entrepreneurs who will also create job opportunities for many others in the future."
