Rewardsco Offers New Employment Opportunities for KZN’s Youth

Rewardsco’s answer to creating new jobs in the GBS sector is upskilling South Africa’s youth.

During the recent GBS Alchemy Awards hosted by Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA), the sector recommitted to its mission to achieve 500 000 new jobs in the industry by 2030.

It’s a challenge Rewardsco has been working toward for years by opening its doors to passionate, work-ready young people.

Currently, Rewardsco has nearly 300 youths in various training programmes across the business.

The company’s most recent programme saw the contact centre join forces with BPESA and accredited training centre Careers IT. Sponsored by the eThekwini Municipality, the programme was designed to equip young South Africans with the basics to succeed in a work environment.

The BPESA Work Readiness Programme is a five-day course aimed at those fresh out of school with no previous work experience. It covered work-readiness skills like phone etiquette, basic computer literacy and communication in the workplace.

Rewardsco’s Skills Development Facilitator, Kerushan Naidoo said programmes such as this go hand-in-hand with the company’s main objective – growing staff from within.

“The majority of our staff is the youth. We get a lot of previously disadvantaged people who come into the contact centre environment. A lot of them don’t have a tertiary education or are forced to find work to support their families. In this way, we’re giving something back to the people coming into Rewardsco. By giving someone an opportunity like this, it shows that we care and want to invest in our people and build them up.”

All 25 students who participated in the BPESA Work Readiness Programme received a nationally recognised certificate and have been moved into the Rewardsco onboarding programme. They will train for a further three months before taking their place as Rewardsco employees.

According to Stats SA, the unemployment rate for those aged between 15 – 24 stands at 63,9% and 42,1% for those aged 25 – 34 years old. Youth unemployment can be attributed to a variety of factors including lack of qualifications, poor quality of education or even just lack of opportunity.

For this reason, Reshni Singh, BPESA CEO, states the governing body’s aim is to ensure that at least 80% of the 500 000 new jobs will go to the youth.

At a BPESA fireside event recently held at Rewardsco’s newly launched third building in Umhlanga,  industry experts gathered to discuss youth unemployment and how the global business sector is alleviating this problem.

At the event, Rewardsco Group Commercial Director, Dylan Koen once again stressed the importance of the employee experience.

One of the main reasons Rewardsco moved to the developing Umhlanga region back in 2014, was to make it easier for staff who largely rely on public transport to get to and from work.

In much the same way, Rewardsco’s training projects are designed with its people in mind. Allowing students to learn on the job, giving them the opportunity to earn a steady income and gain knowledge of the GBS industry.

It’s an investment Koen is passionate about.

“Our youth are our future and it’s our job to help them to be the best they can be. The GBS sector is growing rapidly, not even the pandemic could halt its massive growth. While most sectors struggled to recover post-pandemic, South Africa’s GBS sector has thrived. With this investment in skills and training for our youth, we can empower them to take control of their future.”