Page 18 - EngineerIt June 2021

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Vodacom partners with W&RSETA

and tertiary institutions to create

500 internship opportunities for

unemployed graduates

The internship programme is borne out of a desire to give youth a
fighting chance in this tough economy.

odacom has formed a partnership which started as a health crisis but quickly snowballed into an economic and social crisis.
with the Wholesale and Retail According to the National Income Dynamics Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-
VSector Education and Training CRAM), the first wave of the survey found that approximately 2,8 million people lost their
Authority (W&RSETA) and eight jobs over the lockdown period, representing an 18% decline in employment.
institutions of higher learning to provide A StatsSA Q4:2020 unemployment report released in April 2021 shows there were
500 post-graduate training and internship 39,3 million people of working age in South Africa, of which 22,3 million were in the labour
opportunities for young graduates, who force while 17,1 million were not economically active. Out of 39,3 million people of working
face the grim prospect of unemployment. age in South Africa, 20,5 million were youth aged 15 – 34 years in Q4: 2020. The youth
Youth unemployment is one of South unemployment rate in South Africa was 46,1% in Q4: 2020.
Africa’s most stubborn challenges the Jorge Mendes, chief officer: Consumer Business for Vodacom South Africa said:
country is facing and this has been “For South Africa, the Covid-19 pandemic has illuminated our structural inequalities and laid
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic them bare. The pandemic worsened the problem of youth unemployment and we are now

The 2019 graduation ceremony of the Vodacom Youth Academy, founded in 2012 with the aim of developing ICT skills in the youth of the
country who would otherwise not have the opportunity to do so.

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