Digitally enabled jobs are on the increase for school leavers

Past history and years have shown that the gap in skills, between school leavers and the requirements of a professional workplace culture, still remains. As do partnerships between NPOs and the private and public sectors who can help bridge this gap and address the huge unemployment challenge. According to Lizelle Strydom the MD of CareerBox there is a rise in digitally enabled entry-level jobs in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, also known as Global Business Services (GBS). This industry has been one of the few in the local economy to grow over the past few years and offer many opportunities for entry-level workers. Strydom says digitally enabled jobs look set for further growth with the South African government introducing its GBS Masterplan for the sector. Companies in the sector are further being driven towards investment in training youth by financial incentives from the government, and the growing prevalence of impact sourcing – a business practice where organisations look to previously disadvantaged communities to source and train talent to join their workforce. “A challenge however is that many school leavers, especially from disadvantaged communities, often lack the skills needed to take advantage of these opportunities, with the most basic among them being computer literacy – something that is critical in today’s digital economy. High youth unemployment should not be seen as only a government problem, but one that affects us all. Partnerships between skills-focused NPOs and the private sector can help these matriculants gain an opportunity at a career in a digital world, by bridging the gap from unemployed youngster, to the world of work through demand led training.”  

Strydom also says talented youth need to be identified and placed in programmes that equip them with literacy, numeracy, communication and computer skills that they need for their specific role within the sourcing organisation. In the case of CareerBox, which partners with schools and community organisations to identify talent, they offer personalised in-person programmes that extend to areas such as critical thinking and problem solving. Candidates are also taught budgeting skills to help them better manage their personal finances. She says youths who are skilled for purpose are more motivated and less likely to leave. “This helps prepare them for not just a job, but potential for career growth and advancement within a sector where growing adoption of digital technology is seeing the introduction of multiple job roles that didn’t exist not too long ago. Here, it is up to them to grasp the opportunity, put their training into practice and perform in the workplace.” CareerBox offers free training to unemployed young adults who wish to enter the growing BPO and contact centre industry, which has enormous potential to absorb and empower people from base entry up to management. It has placed over 42 000 unemployed and previously disadvantaged candidates into jobs, of which approximately 66% are female. For more information, go to www.careerbox.co.za.