Isuzu Motors South Africa welcomed 66 Youth Employment Service (YES) candidates to its YES initiative, which is a government-led collaboration with business to create work exposure opportunities for unemployed South Africans between the ages of 18 and 35.
Through the Isuzu partnership programme, candidates will be placed across Isuzu operations as well as KANU, an Isuzu subsidiary. Owing to expanding operations, Isuzu was able to employ 15% from the previous intake, primarily in the Information Technology and Manufacturing departments.
Wayne Osborne, Senior Manager Training & Organisational Development, says: “This is our third intake of Isuzu YES candidates, and I am pleased to say our partnership with Harambee and Engeli Youth Empowerment, who perform recruitment screening and pre-employment training, has been successful.
The programme mainly allows for the youth to gain experience and prepare them for the working world. What we have observed at Isuzu is that we are also able to use the programme as a talent pool from which we search for specific skill sets.”
The harsh reality is that the youth continue to be hard hit by unemployment, the latest official data shows that two out of every three people under the age of thirty-five are unemployed. Therefore, a programme such as this one continues to be of significant importance as it gives these youth candidates an opportunity to gain skills, develop their careers and earn an income.
Isuzu embraces true transformation, Billy Tom, President and CEO of Isuzu, says: “By affording the youth, who are struggling to secure jobs, an opportunity to gain skills and earn an income – this, for us, is true transformation, not only in the working world, but also in the economy.
“By participating in the programme, we are also making sure that as a corporate, we don’t leave any generation behind. The youth have a huge role to play. In the workspace, youth have the opportunity to not only develop their skill sets, but also to add value by developing innovative solutions. As corporates, we have the responsibility to create environments conducive to this; we can only have the youth take the world forward by affording them opportunities.”
Isuzu is part of the 1 825 businesses in South Africa that offer job opportunities to the youth. The 2022 intake of YES candidates have signed a 12-month contract with the manufacturer.
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