Sep 25, 2019 Wesbank, FirstJob, Ghana Msibi
WesBank helps equip students for an employable future
WesBank recently welcomed its second intake of 130 students and graduates into its FirstJob programme. The programme is an initiative the FirstRand Group created in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to build bridges for unemployed youth into the world of work. At the launch of the YES campaign in March 2018, Ramaphosa noted that just one year of work experience, coupled with a CV and an employment letter, increases a young person’s chance of future work and assists them in being able to springboard out of unemployment and into an empowered future.
Heeding the call, the FirstRand Group created its own programme, which was launched in July 2018 and is a three-year commitment. The purpose of the programme is to make a contribution to solving South Africa’s youth unemployment problem, by providing unemployed youth with their “FirstJob” – a year’s worth of meaningful work experience and a qualification to add to their CV. The intent is to increase their employability, either in an employer organisation or as self-employed entrepreneurs.
The programme is open to matriculants and degreed individuals between the ages of 18 and 34 that are not currently studying. They must have been unemployed for at least the last six months and have no or limited work experience. The individuals are provided with a one-year, fixed term contract at WesBank, and receive a stipend to assist with transport, accommodation and other necessary expenses. Matriculants attend a learnership, while graduates attend a future skills programme at GIBS or a specialist IT learnership.
“The FirstJob programme aims to bridge the gap between education and work by focusing on giving our youth meaningful jobs and building their confidence for future work opportunities,”says Ghana Msibi, WesBank Executive Head of Motor. “Each of the individuals accepted into the programme has the dedicated focus of a line manager with an emphasis on building the correct attitude, high demand skills and an entrepreneurial mindset, which make our youth more employable and work ready. With FirstJob we aim to kick start a career and change a life.”
FirstJob is already making a difference in the lives of the individuals that have had the privilege of completing the programme, and is likely to be an experience that will always be remembered.
“This programme has afforded me the opportunity to connect what I have studied and actual work, and to meet people in my field who have now become my mentors and people I look up to. It has also opened my eyes to the bigger world, to see the opportunities that are out there, and because of that I want to be more and do more,”says Arehone Raselabe, one of the recruits of the WesBank FirstJob programme.
“This programme has been the foundation to my career goals,”concursSizwe Ndlovu.“While working at WesBank, I participated in programming classes that have broadened my knowledge on the developer side of my IT career. I will also be getting a certificate for IT technician which will be helpful for when I’m ready to open my own business.”
WesBank partners with Harambee, a FirstRand Group Foundation partner, to source unemployed matriculants. The bank has also advertised directly for unemployed graduates through its own recruitment channels. WesBank has created work experiences for 260 youths in both 2018 and 2019. While not the primary aim of the programme, WesBank has also absorbed 37 of the 130 2018 students into full-time roles or new fixed term contracts at the bank.
For those students looking at joining such an initiative, Deepa Vallabh, one of 2018 FirstJob recruits offers some advice: “Being on an internship is quite a unique experience, it helps to guide you when exploring your interests and developing your professional skills and competencies. My advice to other graduates would be to be curious and ask questions, be willing to help and learn, drive your own development and most of all have fun. This is a wonderful kick start to your career.”
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