Isuzu Motors South Africa welcomes 66 Youth Employment Service (YES) candidates while continuing to say YES to investing in the future of the South African Youth.
The YES initiative 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, a subsidiary to Isuzu.
Due to expanding operations, Isuzu was able to employ 15% of the previous intake, primarily in the Information Technology and Manufacturing departments. Isuzu remains committed to investing in skills development and education as a strategic business imperative.
Wayne Osborne, Senior Manager Training & Organizational 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 very successful. The program mainly allows for the youth to gain experience and prepare themselves for the working world. What we have observed at Isuzu is that we are also able to use the program 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 35 are unemployed. Thus, a program such as this one continues to be of great importance by affording these youth candidates an opportunity to gain skills, develop their careers,s and earn an income.
Isuzu embraces true transformation, says Billy Tom, President and CEO of Isuzu. “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 that of the economy. By participating in the program, 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 skills set but also 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 proud to be part of the 1825 businesses in South Africa offering job opportunities to the youth. The 2022 intake of YES candidates has signed a 12-month contract with the manufacturer.
