According to TradingEconomics.com and Statistics SA, the youth unemployment rate in SA decreased to 47.60% in the third quarter of 2016 from 53.70% in the second quarter of 2016. Youth unemployment rate in the country averaged 51.14 % from 2013 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 54.50% in the first quarter of 2016 and a record low of 47.60% in the third quarter of 2016.
It is figures such as these that propelled Kgotso Kobo to establish an online career platform, SkillsRUs. Gauteng-based SkillsRus is a one-onone tailormade online platform that enables talent (students and graduates) and employers to connect with each other.
Kobo says the online platform couples graduates with potential employers matched on not only their IQ but also the graduates EQ. "Graduates register and log into our digital platform; fill in their profile according to their EQ and attach their CV. We have built an algorithm that tells us more about a person's fit and personality. Therefore allowing us to match the graduate skills and personality to a prospective employer. The reason we have added the EQ factor is that we found that the new workforce tend to leave the companies in less than 12 months because they do not "fit" in or like the organisations. Matching the personality with the company culture helps us minimise that and makes it easier for a person to follow companies of their fit and vice versa."
He adds that the companies can also register to have access to the pool of the talent that is on the platform. "What we have also seen while talking to companies is that most of them indicated that finding high quality candidates in a limited talent pool is a major obstacle for their companies and highlighted that company career pages and social media are important sources for attracting talent."
Kobo, who was formerly an investment banker, explains that the youth need a digital platform of which they could access opportunities although part of the company's concern is to create further accessibility to the platform by people in rural areas. "The digital space as well as the new and developing mobile phone technology are increasing the importance of this generation as agents of social transformation and wealth creation in the country. The concern is how you get rural area communities and previously disadvantaged communities inclusive in this surge. This for example is my concern for the platform to make it accessible to the rural communities where young people are located."
Plans are currently under way to move the platform to a mobile app. "We hope to launch the app in about six months. Initially, we started the concept as an app idea, but then soon realised that major global changers e.g. LinkedIn; Facebook etc. started as Web sites before they got to an app phase. This increased awareness and then when people understood your concept then they are more likely to download the app. Following the launch we will then embark on a nationwide tour at leading universities and FET colleges, then the long-term goal is to be in East Africa and West Africa, five countries in five years," concluded Kobo.
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