Hub offers youth hope for jobs

AN INNOVATIVE entrepreneurship hub in Alexandra is making a positive impact. Three small businesses are being incubated, 38 young people being employed and in excess of 3 000 job-seeking youths from the township having been enrolled on the YES4YOUTH programme.

The hub offers young people in the township the opportunity to develop their potential and turn their dreams into feasible economic opportunities.

“The Netcare Ulusha Hub was developed by Netcare and YES and is strategically located at the Exemplar REITail Limited Alex Mall,” says Dr Nceba Ndzwayiba, the Netcare director of HR and transformation.

“It is supported by partners including Nedbank, Vulcan and Air Liquide. It has the specific goal of addressing barriers to sustainable entrepreneurship growth in townships, skills development and youth employment.

“Now, at a staggering 74% among youths aged 15 to 24, youth unemployment in South Africa is a ticking time bomb that requires urgent intervention. The Netcare Ulusha Hub, as part of the broader YES initiative, aims to address this intractable challenge.”

Dr Tashmia Ismail, the chief executive of YES, said the greatest impact could be achieved when young people were empowered to enter the job market and their talents nurtured with skills to grow their earning potential.

“Building partnerships and linkages between emerging and more established businesses is fundamental to fostering inclusive economic growth.

“This is what we are setting out to achieve at the hub. Youth who register with the YES enrolment centre at the hub are offered assessment, training, ideas for careers or businesses, work opportunities, access to networks, markets, and partner support.

“Our communities are home to thousands of potential entrepreneurs who just need that first chance to unlock their potential. The capabilities of the youth can translate into profitable local businesses, thriving co-operatives, and stimulate the local economy.”

At the heart of the hub is the YES enrolment centre, where young people seeking work can register. Each person who registers is invited to play a series of games called SkillsCraft. It profiles their interests, aptitude and abilities – and potential career pathways.

“The game creates an electronic profile of the work seeker’s strengths. YES then uses the profile to identify potential career pathways and help link each individual with suitably matched opportunities,” Ismail says.

The electronic skills profiles are used by the YES enrolment centre when businesses have vacancies, to identify the job seekers who have the required abilities, and to place them.

Hluvuko Designs is one of the anchor tenants of the hub. It is a womenowned social enterprise co-operative led by managing director Ponani Shikweni. The textile manufacturing and training facility works with seamstresses in the community to produce items, mainly for the corporate market.

“Hluvuko Designs is a glowing example of what can be achieved with passion, perseverance and partnership,” Ndzwayiba says. “Ponani has has built a growing co-operative of 35 women and youth to produce soughtafter quality products for corporates.”

Future Prints 3D printing lab equips young people with skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The on-site 3D lab is run by Termite Labs as the programme partner and funded by Air Liquide that will train the youth to work with the hi-tech systems.

Joachim Lubbe, of Termite Labs, said the aim was to transfer skills to young people and drive the adoption of 3D printing within the community.

The Tastemakers culinary academy and restaurant is also in the hub. It is run by Wakanda as programme partner. It provides chef and catering training and will incubate new businesses for the hospitality industry.

The Ceramics training and production centre forms phase 1 of the R6.5 million hub, run by Nyati Creations to develop artistic talent.

Other sponsors who contributed to phase 1 of the hub development are Dr Rasid Ismail, MMI and Bidvest Prestige.

A drone academy, creative hub, digital lab and business centre will form part of the hub’s phase 2 development.

Two of the many Alex youth who have benefited from the hub are Kopano Caroline Sehlare and Sharon Madisayitsele. Sehlare is doing a 12-month work-experience stint. She graduated with a diploma in tourism in 2019 but battled to find a job. She works as a training and marketing coordinator at the hub. Sharon Madisayitsele, a receptionist at the YES enrolment centre, said: “I wasn’t working before; now my income supports my family.”