In a country with high unemployment, especially among young people, Yongama Dolo, 22, is grateful for a stepping stone to better his future.
Dolo, who lives in Phillipi East, lost his job in a restaurant due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But he has now been employed in Mitchells Plain’s first call centre.
“I'm one of three children in a single-mother household. My mother has been unemployed for 3 years now. Where I'm from, you either get a job and work towards something, or you hang around the streets and try to survive.
Sigma Connected SA and Shadow Careers opened a call centre and training facility in Mitchells Plain on Thursday.
The companies’ partnership has already created hundreds of jobs for young people from disadvantaged communities and backgrounds.
And this time Mitchells Plain is reaping the benefits of a vision to bring jobs closer to employees.
As master of ceremonies Bobby Brown, who grew up in Mitchells Plain, put it: “We don’t get nice things like this very often. So this is so very important, especially to our area.”
“It also couldn't have come any sooner, especially with the petrol (price) hike and the very high unemployment rate.”
The call centre, which officially launched at its Watergate offices on Thursday, now seats some 100 new employees, some of whom are Shadow Careers graduates.
Dolo said: “I had an opportunity to apply for Shadow Careers, where I learned contact centre skills, and three months later I was placed with Sigma Connected. This opportunity has given me direction, and I now know what I want to do.
“I'm going to make the best of this opportunity -- I'm sure of that,” he said.
Kashiefa Blaauw, 21, who lives in New Woodlands, a stone’s throw away from the new call centre, said she had struggled to find work for months before applying to the Shadow Careers programme.
“I was accepted onto the programme, during which I was trained in key contact centre skills. When I finished the training, I was offered the opportunity to work for Sigma Connected. I cried with joy when I got the call; my parents were so proud and happy for me,” Blaauw said.
“I have been at Sigma Connected for a year now, and I look forward to many more.”
Director and co-founder of Shadow Careers Franco Cotumaccio said this was a catalyst for the change needed across the country. He said it creates a new model for the future sustainability of the GBS sector.
“We believe that what we are doing is aligned to the sector master plan, and to the Presidential Youth Employment initiative. Shadow Careers plans to create 1 500 permanent careers over the next three years, in collaboration with our partners,” Cotumaccio said.
“More than 90% of the Shadow students who attend our three-month course have been placed in permanent careers with our international and domestic contact centre partners,” he said. “At the core of this is impact sourcing, which addresses youth unemployment, one of the country's biggest challenges.”
Managing Director of Sigma Connected South Africa David Neale said this was more than just providing jobs. It’s about teaching the youth important skills, especially youth who need it the most.
“We started this two years ago, and our plan for the next year is to create another 1 000 additional jobs. Our hope is not to stop in Mitchells Plain. We really want to change the landscape in South Africa as a whole.”
Head of the Project Management Office in the Presidency Rudi Dicks was also present.
“Having a place like this set up in a township community is just so amazing,” said Dicks. “I remember my first job in Grassy Park. It taught me so much, how to work with people, how to speak to people, so let this also be your motivation to protect what you have and learn from it.
“This is your stepping stone to gain experience and an opportunity to get into life.”
Ricardo Mackenzie, a Member of Provincial Legislature, also encouraged the new employees to take pride in their jobs.
“A few years from now people will look back and say you guys were the ones who paved the way for many other youths -- despite your circumstances,” he said.
“The reality is that everyone in this City can and must be accommodated, however they do not all have to work in the city. It is indeed possible for businesses to grow and township economies to prosper,” Mackenzie added.