Joy in finding jobs for SA’S graduates

NOT BEING content with the direction her career was taking led to entrepreneur Ursula Bhengudlamini founding a company that helps connect unemployed youths and misplaced graduates with better career prospects.

Bhengu-dlamini, granddaughter of the late Assemblies of God founder the Reverend Nicholas Bhengu, started her company Networx for Career Development in 2005 to give her targeted audience a head start in life.

From a backyard start, the company now has a staff of more than 50.

Bhengu-dlamini, who obtained her industrial psychology degree at the then University of Natal, says her passion and dream is to alleviate poverty and unemployment among the youth.

She says she was forced to work in the banking sector and later for a medical aid company as she couldn’t find work in her field.

“I felt I didn’t belong there – I was a misplaced graduate,” she says.

She sources funding from various sector education and training authorities to enable matriculants to enrol for learnerships.

“We are an accredited training provider,” she says.

“We run learnership programmes which are a step in the door for people who don’t have money to further their education. They give them some workplace experience.”

Her programmes are aimed at fighting unemployment.

“Unemployment in South Africa is not a battle that should be left to the government alone to address. Public-private partnerships must come together and address this challenge.”

Bhengu-dlamini says most learnership programmes are implemented through local municipalities.

The company has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town but is expanding.

She recently launched her national project titled “Work Readiness Programme” which provides a mentorship platform for graduates in all spheres of study.

She involves employers and makes arrangements with them to place graduates in their companies so that they can gain work experience.

This, in turn, increases their chances of getting gainful employment, says Bhengu-dlamini, who describes herself as a self-motivated and passionate perfectionist.

“I always push to get what I want and do what is right.”

She says her programmes help graduates cope with their new work environments.

“New graduates are draining emotionally and physically for employers; some arrive late for work and so on.”

In the next decade, Bhengudlamini says she plans to be doing exactly what she is doing now, albeit on a larger scale.

“I would like to continue doing what I’m doing and increase our footprint so that we can cover more youth to get employment.

“I would like to see more companies doing the same and making a difference,” she says.