FirstJob programme kickstarts youth careers and changes lives
The FirstRand FirstJob programme kicked off in July 2018 to address the youth unemployment crisis and improve youth employability.
FirstJob is a multi-faceted programme that provides our South African young people with one year of meaningful work experience; work-related training; and/or a vocational qualification. Further to increasing our youth’s employability in the job market, the programme also focuses on developing entrepreneurship skills for many of the FirstJob participants. The programme is open to unemployed matriculants and degreed individuals between the ages of 18 and 34, who are South African citizens.
To date, approximately 2400 youth have completed the FirstJob programme across the FirstRand Group. Over the last 3 years, 43% of our FirstJob alumni have obtained permanent or fixed term contract employment either internally at FirstRand or externally. This is a remarkable achievement, given the current youth unemployment rates.
WesBank, as part of the FirstRand Group, is an active participant and welcomed another intake of matriculants and graduates in January 2021. The WesBank FirstJob youth complete various learnerships in scarce and critical skills such as agile banking, IT, entrepreneurship, and paralegal studies. WesBank itself has employed 58 of these FirstJob youth into permanent or fixed term contracts over the past three years.
“The FirstJob programme aims to bridge the gap between education and the workplace by focusing on giving our youth meaningful work experience and building their confidence for future work opportunities,”
says Siya Nkosi, FirstRand Group Lead: Talent Development.
“Each of the young people accepted onto the programme enjoys the mentorship of a line manager. We build an understanding of workplace ethics and an entrepreneurial mindset. With this programme, our aim is to kickstart a career and change a life.”
Sybil Bila, one of the youths in this year’s cohort of 90 FirstJobbers, notes:
“The programme has helped prepare me for the job market and has paved a way for me to thrive and reach my goals. Working at WesBank has been the greatest experience, and I am even more encouraged and motivated to study for my master’s degree.”
Sybil goes on to say that being employed during Covid-19 “was a blessing”. Despite the difficulties many people experience working from home, she has come to terms with the fact that working from home is the new normal, for the moment. She sees this as a positive challenge, even though working in an office environment and meeting her colleagues face to face would have been a wonderful opportunity.
“When I started working, I was concerned about asking too many questions. However, it did not take me long to realise that my line manager and colleagues were not only there to help, but they really wanted to help, they encouraged me to ask questions, to engage, and are setting me up for success. I realised the only way I will learn is by asking questions.
I was fortunate enough to be part of a new venture creation learnership and have gained a plethora of skills that I am now applying in the workplace. These include entrepreneurial and creative skills, the importance of business communication and coming up with innovative ideas. I have learned about team planning and business administration. My wish is to achieve additional skills and education, networking opportunities, and hopefully find a permanent job,”
says Sybil.
FirstJob is already changing lives and making a positive difference to young people such as Sybil, who have had the privilege of participating on the programme and is certainly an experience they will always carry with them as they enter the world of work.
