South Africa is facing a talent crisis.
Seventy-eight percent of employers in South Africa report difficulty finding digitally skilled workers, and demand will only increase as experts predict that over 230 million jobs will require digital expertise by 2030.
Tie in the fact that 89% of South African consumers demand more tailored digital experiences, and organisations face considerable pressure to find a solution, fast.
The good news is that business leaders only need to look as far as their doorstep for the answer – the untapped potential of our youth.
South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis
It comes down to this: our youth are struggling to find jobs. The unemployment rate in South Africa remains persistently high year-on-year, with young people aged 15-24 accounting for 66.5% of the unemployed.
Yet young people can, and should, be considered a driving force behind a country’s economy and success on the global stage. Not only can they bring a fresh perspective, but also innovative new ideas that can help keep businesses competitive.
The gap between our unemployed youth and the talent crisis is fuelled by two things: a lack of technical know-how and access to the right practical tools. It’s the perfect storm for economic stagnation.
So how can we turn it around?
It’s about connecting young people to the right opportunities.
To make that happen, we need the private sector to step up and collaborate, not only to benefit young people and to set in motion a workforce ready for the future, but to meet evolving consumer demands too.
Creating new opportunities
One such collaboration is ServiceNow’s NextGen Programme, which saw its first African intakes this year.
Aiming to address the digital skills gap worldwide, NextGen gives candidates the opportunity to gain hands-on technology experience with the ServiceNow platform.
Participants who graduate from the NextGen Programme do so with the in-demand practical skills they need to forge lucrative careers within the tech industry.
But the benefits don’t stop with participants.
Companies in South Africa looking to tackle both challenges of bridging the skills gap and meeting consumer demands for innovation are met with a fresh talent pool filled with candidates who have the digital skills necessary to get started right away. It’s a win-win.
But I’d argue that to stay truly competitive requires going one step further – keeping your employees happy by enabling them with the digital tools they need to do their job well and prepare them for the future.
Doing so not only attracts and retains skilled workers, but empowers them to focus more on high-value tasks that directly benefit your customers. In fact, businesses that put employees first see a 51% measuring impact of employee engagement on customer retention.
Bridging the gap to a better future
There are numerous challenges facing organisations and South Africa’s youth today.
It requires the private sector to take a hard look at what can be done on their side and turn to programmes like NextGen to help facilitate a new generation of skilled workers.
It’s about creating new opportunities for training and employment for a population that has been marginalised for far too long.
Only then can we close the digital skills gap, bring up our young people, and see businesses within South Africa thrive.
To learn more about the ServiceNow NextGen Programme, please click here.
If you are an employer who has a need for ServiceNow trained and job-ready talent, please click here.
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