“I studied finance, so it was a struggle for me to get a job in my career path. However, with Harambee, I finally got a response form a job I applied for and I am now on a 12 month learnership program with FNB,” says Sandiswa Gwele (26), a job seeker from Harambee at the Accelerating Inclusive Youth Employment Conference, held at Spier Wine Farm in October.
INFOGRAPHIC: Caira Blignaut
Gwele is unfortunately not alone, she is one of millions of young South Africans who find themselves struggling to find employment in the economic recession this country is currently experiencing.
The gap between skills and jobs are vastly apart and optimizing a pathway for employability of the youth in South Africa were just few of the various topics discussed at the annual Accelerating Inclusive Youth Employment Conference held at Spier wine farm earlier this month.
The event, coordinated by the Harambee Youth Accelerator Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), saw key issues being debated on and made sure that the conference brought both government and private entity stakeholders together in order to create avenues to earning for the youth in South Africa. It centered around skilling and upskilling youth in order to bridge the gap between supply and demand jobs in South Africa.
Miriam Altman from National Planning Commision (left), Maryana Iskander, Harambee CEO (centre) and Lebo Nke, Harambee Executive for partnerships and Advocacy (right), get ready to introduce the Accelerating Inclusive Youth Employment Conference at Spier Wine Farm which was aimed optomising public and private investments in order to solve the youth unemployment issue in South Africa. PHOTO: Caira Blignaut
“The work of creating jobs is daily and constant work. Being very target driven is critical if we are going to turn big ideas into pragmatic results on the ground,” says Maryana Iskander, Harambee CEO.
Harambee is a recognised NPO with one primary goal of solving global youth unemployment. They create a network which connects businesses to talented youth who have a lack of finances and networks needed to find jobs because they are from underprivileged households.
INFOGRAPHIC: Caira Blignaut
“I have grown exponentially [since joining Harambee], I have stepped out of my comfort zone. Before Harambee, I wasn’t able to speak in front of a crowd and now I’m seen as a very confident person, and that is thanks to the Harambee team,” says Shaina America (21), who is a Job Seeker from Harambee.
Harambee job seekers along with the rest of the unemployed youth of South Africa were the main driving forces behind this event being a success. The above job seekers were given a unique opportunity to network with potential employees at the conference. PHOTO: Caira Blignaut
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator was put in place to be a change agent in the market and is highly committed to inclusive economic growth. This conference, now in its fifth year, is in place to understand the problems that young people have and to understand the issues that governments systems face.
“We try to understand what solutions are needed to break through issues. By 2014, when this conference was first held, Harambee had successfully paired up with 100 employers to drive inclusive hiring. Through this and our growth we have accumulated a lot of insight, learning and data,” says Nicola Galombik, Harambee Founder and Chair.
Thanks to Harambee, the conference was deemed a major success with President Cyril Ramaphosa leaving a note at the conference stating that collective efforts and growing resources for work opportunities for young people should be focused on more in SA. PHOTO: Caira Blignaut
Harambee’s bold vision is that by 2022, their plan is to support 1.5 million youth to grow their employability. They have enabled partnerships into action in order to achieve this goal. Harambee is essentially an existing change agent and a pathway manager, and the Accelerating Inclusive Youth Employment Conference was a true testimony to their everyday mission.