Earlier this month, aspiring graduates who completed the Nedbank Work Readiness Programme gathered at the Nedbank Head Office in Sandton to accept their certificates. The Nedbank foundation in partnership with the Nicholas Bhengu Foundation and partners from various industries and sectors equipped them with employability skills and linking them to employment opportunities with identified companies.
According to Statistics South Africa, the country has a 31% unemployment rate for graduates under the age of 24, and the South African Council for Graduates Cooperative has database of about 30 000 unemployed graduates, which breaks down to 3 580 graduates from universities, 7 890 from universities of technology and 20 008 from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in South Africa. The two organizations realized that many graduates have difficulty in finding employment after graduation due to the fact that they often lack basic workplace skills hence they encourage companies to fill their entry-level positions with WRP graduates.
Speakers of the day included the Executive Head of Group CSI at Nedbank, Lindiwe Temba. She emphasised that the certificates received by these graduates are far more than just pieces of paper signifying course completion.” They are the keys that will open the doors to opportunity that you have spent the past few years constructing. We are very confident that the hard work you have put into this programme will pay dividends by bridging the gap between your qualifications and the careers you desire,” said Temba.
Nedbank Work-Readiness Programme Graduate, Cherel Thane shared her testimony with the audience and thanked the contributing organizations. “I was placed at Nampak in Springs because of my outstanding work performance. This programme taught me how to interact with everyone at any level. My presentation skills became so good that they extended my contract.” Ursula Bhengu from Nicholas Bhengu Foundation added that “The skills programme is unique because of its demand-driven approach and a strong link to entrepreneurship. We aim to encourage entry-level employees and prospective interns to use workplace coaching as a recruitment strategy for launching their careers”.
