Almost 500 young South Africans will be given an opportunity to break into the workforce, learn skills in the ever-growing ICT sector and contribute to their communities.
South Africa has become a leading hub on the continent for the growth of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, as the sector is one of the biggest employers in South Africa. The sector contributes about R93 billion (2,7%) of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to Stats SA.
As a major player in the ICT sector, Telkom has partnered with Youth Employment Service (YES) to give 455 young people a critical opportunity to break into the workforce and learn future-fit skills in the sector.
“Youth unemployment in South Africa is currently at 66,5%. Through Telkom’s partnership with YES, we are increasing job opportunities for youth, and injecting critical skills into our economy that will enable innovation, and a digital future,” said Telkom chief human resources officer, Melody Lekota.
“Telkom is committed to addressing inequalities and the socio-development challenges of our country. The partnership with YES is critical to supporting community-led programmes and advancing their impact.”
The telecoms company said it opted to place youth externally through the YES turnkey solution as a way to capacitate non-government organisations working in the digital space all over South Africa.
This allows companies to sponsor the placement of unemployed youth for 12 months in vetted implementation partners within their own communities.
The youth do not have to travel far for work and can rather contribute to building their hometown economies in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, Telkom said.
“The youth were placed with YES implementation partners operating in positions that offer crucial in-demand skills such as data capturers, cybersecurity agents, digital artisans, content creators and software developers. This offers them a year of work and up-skilling while earning a salary,” the company said.
The five implementation partners hosting the youth are Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative, South Africa’s oldest tech incubator which promotes the inclusive growth of the digital economy; the National Financial Literacy Association, which provides ongoing consumer financial education using various platforms; Reconstructed Living Lab, a non-profit which provides empowerment through hope, technology, innovation, training and economic opportunities; Youth Content Collective (YCC), where talented black content creators are connected with business and Youth@Work, where unemployed young people are given work experiences in non-traditional work sites.
“The ICT sector desperately needs more skilled workers. Telkom’s partnership with YES will contribute to building an equipped workforce in South Africa, and indeed the rest of Africa, that will have the right skills to deal with the growing ICT demands of the world,” said YES chief executive, Ravi Naidoo.
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