IN JOB-SHORT SOUTH AFRICA, 'DATING SERVICE' GETS YOUNG PEOPLE INTO WORK

By LAURIE GOERING in Joh an nesburg A FEW ye ar s ago, Thab o Ngw at o’s job pros pects lok ed bleak . After gr aduating from hi gh scolh , he started studying at the Uni ve rsity of Joha ne sbur g - but was for ced to drop out whe n hi s mot he r retired and c ashr ans hor t. For a year and a ha lf he hung around hi s hom e in a por tow ns hi p in Boks bur g, east of Joha ne sbur g, pl aying fot ba ll with friends and oc casiona lly maki ng joba pl ications int ow n. He got no respons e - not a surpr ise in a coutn ry with one of the wor ld’s mos t pe rsistent ly hi gh yout hu ne mpl oym ent rates. In Sout h Africa, a recor d million young pe opl e are searchi ng for wor k uns uccessfully, many livi ng in slums far from bi g empl oye rs. But one day a friend ment ione d to Ngw ato he ha d found wor k thr ough Harambe e, a Sout h African “yout h empl oym ent accelerator ” tha t links talent hungr y bus ine sses with pr om ising por ki ds. “The best descript ion I’ve he ard is tha t we’re a dating service and a finishing school,´ said Lebo Nke , an exe cutive at the Joha ne sbur g-ba sed soc ial ent erpr ise, whi ch sinc e 2011 ha s he lpe d mor e tha n 50, 000 yout hs find work, including Ngwato For the pa st two years, the 23-year-ol d ha s wor ke d at a Joha ne sbur g call cent re, earni ng enough to supor t hi s mot he r and ne phe w. He recent ly bought his first car to speed up his three mini bus tript ow or k. “I know how to ne twor k, lok for empl oym ent . The ski lls are one s I can take anyw he re,” he said.

TOO FEW JO BS

Globa lly, Sout h Africa ha s one of the hi ghe st une mpl oym ent rates at percent, a figure that ha s steadily inc reased ove r much of the last decade. Among young pe opl e, thi ngs are wor se. One in thr ee age d 15 to 24 are not empl oye d, studying or in any ki nd of traini ng, accor ding to figures from government age nc y Statistics Sout h Africa. The reasons inc lude a publ ic education system with hi gh drop- out rates, slow econom ic gr ow th, bl ack empow erment schemes that have benefitted onl y a few, and por leadershi p by for mer President Jacob Zuma, who resigne d in Febr uary facing cor rupt ionc ha rge s. But Sout h Africa’s apa rthe id lega cy pl ays a cent ral rol e to. Many por pe opl e still live in tow ns hi ps pur pos ely bui lt far from urba n cent res, and with little access to che ap publ ic trans por t. The y ha ve few pr os pe cts of finding work they can reach, or teachi ng the ir chi ldren how to ge t it.

“It’s the ge ogr aphy pa rt tha t’s of ten missed,” said Jak Kos eff, he ad of Tshe po 1 Million, a yout h jobs pus h run by Gauteng Provi nc e, whe re Joha ne sbur g is loc ated. “It’s really at the he art of the pr obl em.”

DEVELOPING TALENT

To cha nge tha t, Harambe e sends young recruiters - who it calls “feet on the streets” - int o depr ive d tow ns hi ps and col lects cont acts of young pe opl e hopi ng for jobs . It the n invi tes som e int o its offices for a day to gauge their int erests and ski lls, test the ir ana lytical thi nki ng, and he lp the m create ane mail account and C V. It also of fers advi ce on eve rythi ng from how to dress for a job int ervi ew to the ki nds of que stions the y might be aske d. Thos e without int ervi ew clot he s can pick up an outfit free Young pe opl e who show pr om ise for cha llengi ng jobs ge t additiona l assessment and the n voc ationa l traini ng - as much as eight weeks for call-cent re wor k once a specific opportunity is identified “The y teach you thi ngs like how to manage if you get a difficult bos s,” said Ayanda Figl an, 25, current ly on the traini ng pr ogr amme. “Som eone might of fend you but you can¶t fight with them and you can’ t cry.” Candi dates the n wait to be called for an int ervi ew whe n one of the 425 bus ine sses Harambe e pa rtne rs with - from Nando’ s restaurant s to Micros of t and Standa rd Bank - com e loki ng for chi cke n- gr illers or a front -desk clerk, N ke said. Matche s depe nd not just on an apl icant ’s apt itude and ski lls but how far the y live from the job. “You ha ve to cons ider the cos t of maint aini ng tha t job,” Kos eff said. In som e cases, trans por t cos ts will put a wor ke r int o debt , he added. Empl oye rs pa y a sha re of Harambe e’s spe ndi ng to pr epa re a candi date if the y hi re one . A bi g pol of well-coa che d apl icant s ha s he lpe d the m inc rease the dive rsity of the ir wor kf or ce and find staff who stick around, they say.

BREADWI NNERS

Cathy Kalamaras, mana gi ng exe cutive for pe opl e at Webhe lp SA, the Joha ne sbur g call cent re whe re Ngw ato wor ks , said on ave rage mor e tha n 60 pe rcent of call-cent re staff qui t be for e two years. But the two- year retent ion rate with Harambe e wor ke rs is 97 pe rcent , she said. “The y’re willing. The y’re hungr y. Som e are the main br eadwine rs of the family,” she said. “Wha t I abs ol utely love about sour cing from Harambe e is tha t the y com e with tha t mot iva tiona l factor .” Tailor ed traini ng also means Webhe lp hi res one in two Harambe e apl icants int ervi ewed, com pa red to one in six ge ne rally, Kalamaras said. Tha t br ings major cos t and time savi ngs - one reason the com pa ny ha s expa nde d from 350 wor ke rs five years ago to , today, she said. Oratile Phe koa yane , 29, a Webhe lp wor ke r hi red vi a Harambe e, said she pr evi ous ly ha d no idea call-cent re jobs eve n exi sted. And be for e Harambe e’s traini ng, she was ne rvous in interviews, she said, fiddling and not maki nge ye cont act.