Youth accelerator relies on partnerships to help pave way for young job-seekers

South Africa’s youth unemployment is rising steadily and, according to Stats SA, it is now at 46.3%. If those who have become discouraged from seeking work are included, the rate is 74.7%.

Harambee Youth Unemployment Accelerator, a not-for-profit social enterprise, is doing its bit to mitigate this problem.

Through partnerships, Harambee assists young people in finding employment. It hosts a platform for young people to seek out job opportunities without the burden of incurring data costs and it provides support in the job-seeking process, such as interview preparation.

Harambee also works with a range of partners to link employment seekers to suitable jobs. One of its strategic partnerships, which was born out of the Presidential Jobs Summit, is with the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention.

Together, they have created a zero-rated platform where work-seekers can register their CVs and access a range of volunteer, learnership, bursary and work experience opportunities.

Called SAYouth.mobi, the national network was launched this week in conjunction with the Presidency on Youth Day, 16 June. Its aim is to give young people “access to learning and earning opportunities”.

It is open not only to South African ID holders, but also to those who have refugee numbers or a valid work permit.

The partnership between government, business and Harambee is assisting unemployed youth to find employment by helping to place them in government learnerships, internships and jobs.

Harambee believes that the high rate of youth unemployment is a result of a poorly performing education system, inequality and a job market that is not growing.

Speaking to DM168, Kuben Nair, Harambee’s chief brand officer, said that after the economic recession of 2008, jobs were lost that were never recovered – something that has mostly affected young people.

The shortage of jobs had been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis.

Nair said most businesses tended to be risk-averse after times of crisis and, as a result, they would be more cautious in their employment practices, locking young people out of employment opportunities.

Nair said that the majority of work-seekers were from disadvantaged backgrounds and mostly depended on grants to sustain themselves and found it difficult to pay for things such as transport or data.

One study reported that some work-seekers were spending as much as R900 a month on transport costs.

This led to Harambee piloting a transport partnership for work-seekers registered with the accelerator, in which candidates are taken to interviews and back by using a Taxify voucher system.

Agatha Magagane, who is registered with Harambee, said: “I am honestly full of excitement and have changed a lot since I have begun with this course.

“It answered all the questions [about] why I was not getting a job.

“It keeps me going because I now see that I can also volunteer or ‘self hustle’ while looking for an internship opportunity.

“I now know what information is important in my CV, cover letter, interview and about the behaviour I have to display at work each and every day. I am very motivated. It has changed my way of thinking and I also network a lot.”

Nair said Harambee had found that hiring was less about skills and more about attitudes and willingness to learn.

He said the organisation encouraged employers to use more inclusive hiring practices – such as using indicators other than qualifications and experience – to give work-seekers more opportunities.

Advising young people who are exploring creative avenues to employment, Nair said: “Youth should not discount side hustles like hair braiding and DJing, because they are a form of income generation.”Asked whether he thought unemployment in South Africa would ever be resolved and make organisations such as Harambee obsolete, Nair responded, “Not in my lifetime.”

He said there was still much to be done from a government policy perspective, socioeconomic restructuring in terms of current inequalities as well as boosting business’ confidence in giving young people a chance.

Nair said that in the 10 years that Harambee has been in existence, it has helped 1.4 million young people and has created 530,000 employment opportunities.

They were now looking to scale the organisation so it could help more young people.

It keeps me going

because I now see that I can also volunteer or ‘self hustle’ while looking for an internship

opportunity