ISUZU Motors South Africa recently welcomed 66 Youth Employment Service (YES) candidates.
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 program candidates will be placed across the company’s operations as well as, subsidiary, KANU.
Thanks to expanding operations, Isuzu was able to employ 15% from the previous intake, primarily in the Information Technology and Manufacturing departments. Senior Manager Training and Organizational Development, Wayne Osborne, said the company remains committed to investing in skills development and education as a strategic business imperative.
“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 skills sets.”
President and CEO Billy Tom said the company viewed giving young people an opportunity to gain skills and earn an income as 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.”
The 2022 intake of YES candidates have signed a 12-month contract with the manufacturer.
