Future-ready youth – Business must collaborate to build skills for the evolving workplace

Speaking at the Trialogue Business in Society Conference 2024, Vilakazi said Telkom is making a concerted effort to address unemployment challenges by upskilling youth with crucial digital skills needed to tackle the evolving workplace and called for like-minded partners who can help to scale their efforts.

Judy Vilakazi

Telkom has been providing connectivity and devices to schools for some time and has expanded digital education with zero-rated learning platforms and its digital skills programme, which familiarises learners with skills including coding, web development and cybersecurity. “Digital skills will ensure our youth have the knowledge to thrive in this new era. We are building a future-ready generation prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. Unlocking the potential of our youth can create a brighter future for them – but no one company can solve these problems alone.”

Vilakazi noted that it is vital to build a skills pipeline, since some skilled people are leaving the country to pursue opportunities elsewhere. “Feedback from our stakeholders indicates that we need private companies to invest more in the future of skills,” she said.

Telkom works closely with training providers to build a pipeline of skilled youngsters who can be absorbed into Telkom later on. One of these skills providers, TsAfrika, has been able to place around 20% of its learners through the TsAfrika ICT Learnership Programme. Founder and head of the TsAfrika Foundation Cynthia Motau also spoke about scaling up, saying that there are always more applicants than learners placed, and more such programmes would be helpful. Additionally, these learnerships should run for two years to fully upskill youth and ensure their qualifications are fit for purpose.

A panel discussion featuring speakers from The Jobs Fund, Harambee and TsAfrika revealed success stories, but again emphasised the need for private sector involvement in digital skills growth.

The Jobs Fund tests and develops new models that lead to job creation, working with partners including Harambee to co-create employment solutions. Senior finance specialist at The Jobs Fund, Nazeem Hendricks, stressed that it is not a mass employment programme, but helps to overcome demand-side constraints to employment. The Jobs Fund has rolled out 163 projects in collaboration with stakeholders. Through these initiatives, it has helped to create 220,000 jobs and support 75,000 SMEs and emerging farmers.

Importantly, 53,000 jobs have been created beyond the completion of projects, meaning they have not relied on donor funding. “This shows we have developed a sustainable model,” says Hendricks. “True success lies in understanding what works and what doesn’t and being able to pass these learnings on.”

Mary Metcalfe

The Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator has developed an assessment tool that allows young people to discover their capabilities beyond the classroom, including problem-solving, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. Kasthuri Soni, CEO of Harambee, says she is most proud of the SA Youth Network, a Harambee-managed platform that links active job seekers to job opportunities.

“This is a game-changer that serves nearly four million young people who get free access to aggregated earning and learning opportunities and work-seeker support,” Soni said. “The SA Youth Network also provides employers with access to a young talent pool ready to be matched with opportunities, not just via their CVs but via a line of sight to their problem-solving capabilities. It’s a hassle-free, cost-free way to source quality talent.”

Soni stressed that Harambee’s programmes keep young people productively engaged, allowing them to increase their employability and progress from one pathway to the next. “All opportunities matter, even short-term ones, but we need pathway management to keep young people economically active for as long as possible, earning a resilient income,” Soni says.

Keynote speaker Nicola Galombik, executive director at Yellowwoods Holdings, highlighted that around 20% of young people using the SA Youth Network meet or exceed expectations in terms of cognitive capability, but this had limited correlation with their qualifications. The National Pathways Management Network helps to bridge this gap. A “network of networks” that is part of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI), it currently links around 4 million young people with opportunities that may lead to paying jobs.

Nicola Galombik

Galombik noted that R200 billion is spent every year on post-school education and training. “Our problem is not a lack of money – but we need new skilling solutions that build on the potential of our young people, find out what they are really good at, and bridge them quickly and effectively into jobs the economy actually has, with the skills and competencies our economy actually needs,” she said.

She says young people should be directed towards “sunrise sectors” of the economy experiencing huge growth, such as global business services, the green economy, and the digital sector, while addressing the digital skills gap. Two years ago, there was a significant mismatch noted between the 40,000 entry-level roles in the digital sector and the 20,000 candidates completing a digital skills qualification at all institutions. This has led to offshoring jobs, rather than creating them in the country.

However, because there is a limit to how many jobs can be created in the formal sector, Galombik says we need to grow our informal sector, which is currently smaller than in similar middle-income countries. A priority is to grow informal and township economies, allowing people to sell their services to people in their communities as well as into corporate value chains. Access to broadband is an essential enabler.

To address the jobs crisis, Galombik proposed a multifaceted approach: creating jobs in growing sectors, integrating young people enrolled in the National Pathways Management Network into an inclusive economy, prioritising demand-led skills development, and facilitating self-employment. While promising national initiatives are underway, Galombik emphasised the importance of structured collaboration among companies to maximise impact.

Visit www.trialogue.co.za for speaker videos and detailed insights from the conference.