Nedbank : Matriculants get skilled for work

24 April 2014 - Ten (10) matriculants from the Free State and Northern Cape will receive IT skills to enable them to get employment. This is through a partnership between Nedbank, which provides the funding; National Economic Education Trust (NEET) which manages the project and Samsung who will train and facilitate job opportunities for the students.

The vision shared by all the partners of the programme is to contribute towards the National Development Plan and Youth Employment Accord through upskilling the youth and thereby making a significant contribution towards the eradication of unemployment in the country. The programme, which started in 2013 identifies and recruits learners who have passed matric with a fifty per cent (50%) aggregate in Mathematics and Physical Science and are keen to pursue a career in electronics.

The cadets will be trained in servicing Samsung electronics such as computers, fridges, air-conditioners, microwaves, cell phones etc. On successful completion of the one year programme, Samsung will facilitate job opportunities for the students that achieve eighty per cent (80%) and above.

The class of 2013 had twenty cadets that completed the programme and ten of them obtained eighty (80%) and above. Samsung has already placed six of them in employment with their service providers and are in the process of placing the remaining four in gainful employments. The class of 2014 has thirty-eight cadets from rural areas including the ten funded by Nedbank, recruited from Northern Cape and Free State.

"Unemployment remains a major challenge, and the youth make up the majority of those that are unemployed," says Mrs Kone Gugushe, Divisional Executive for Corporate Social Responsibility at Nedbank. "Lack of skills and entrepreneurial development is seen as key contributors to the problem. To address this, Nedbank partners with all sectors of society to provide support for a variety of skills training and job creation projects.

"We do this because; the achievement of true social sustainability in South Africa requires more than just financial support. It demands absolute commitment to the principles of economic upliftment, business development, job creation, community empowerment and social transformation," adds Gugushe.

"Many graduates leave university with strong theoretical knowledge, but lack the practical skills needed by industry. The Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy supplements this knowledge through free, intensive, hands-on training. The programme forms a core part of Samsung's vision to fast-track the entry of African youths into the electronics job market, with a short-term goal to develop 10 000 service technicians across the continent by 2015 and to address the critical technical and engineering skills shortage in Africa," says Ntutule Tshenye, Head of Public Affairs and Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics Africa. "Education is the seed of innovation, which is central to our business. We will continue to support, and create programmes that support, youth education and job training through the use of our technology, services and expertise."

In 2013, Nedbank in partnership with Old Mutual, The Department of Public Works, South African Graduates Development Association, the Transport Education and Training Authority and KPMG launched the Prestigious Internship Programme - an innovative public-private partnership, which created employment for 64 graduates.