MTNby MTHULISI SIBANDA

JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE MTN Group has committed to the creation of 1 000 jobs as part of a commitment to a business-led collaboration with government and labour aiming to empower 1 million young South Africans.

MTN pledged to create the jobs within the first year of the Youth Employment Service (YES) initiative launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in March.

The mobile operator will be creating the jobs across its South African business and Group head office, covering both operational and functional roles.

Rob Shuter, MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer, lauded YES asBan innovative social partnership with the potential to be a significant catalyst for economic growth and development.

“MTN loves fresh and bold solutions and that’s what YES is bringing to South Africa’s unemployment crisis,” Shuter said.

“We’re proud to be a supporter of the YES programme and look forward to welcoming more companies to the YES Team so that together, we can drive sustainable change for the unemployed youth of our country.”

Tashmia Ismail-Saville, CEO of YES, said the success of the initiative now lay in bringing scale to the operation.

She said research had consistently shown that young people, with at least a year of paid work experience, were significantly more likely to secure permanent employment after that first year.

South African business, she said, had an opportunity to turn the tide on the scourge of youth unemployment.

Ismail-Saville welcomed the support of the MTN Group as one of the forerunner companies to back YES.

She said the return on the investment in creating pathways for youth that were currently locked out of the economy would be a significant return for all businesses, in the longer term.

“On the other hand, the costs of ignoring six million of our marginalised youth will be a far higher price to pay, for our economic future,” she added.
– Guardian