26 Jan 2017

Barclays Bank has been hailed for its Ready To Work programme which empowers youth with employability skills.

 The programme’s coordinator Ms Gaone Nkarabang from Stepping Stones International (SSI) said they targeted youth aged 16-35 who are either in school or unemployed.

“The goal of the programme is to build the capacity of youth to find employment and to go into business or to scale up their businesses,” she said during a facilitation workshop with youth in Bobonong recently.

She said Barclays Africa Group developed this programme after realising that key challenge on the African continent was the high level of youth unemployment.

"The challenge limits the ability of Africa to realise its potential by limiting the ambitions of the next generation," she said.

Ms Nkarabang said young people faced significant challenges in reaching their ambitions, many linked to limited opportunities, lack of skills and uncertainty on the path to take into meaningful work. "By 2030 it is projected that more than 60 per cent of Sub-Saharan young people will have basic education but will fail to find meaningful employment and this challenge will simply become greater," she added.

She said while having education qualifications of any level was important, it was often an entirely different thing to being work-ready in today’s competitive work and small business environment.

"In response to this challenge, Barclays Bank has engaged Stepping Stones International (SSI) to implement its Ready To Work Programme in various villages and towns in Botswana, "she said.

Ms Nkarabang said Barclays Bank and SSI have a relationship that spanned over 9 years in the area of Income Generation and Employability Skills development.

"SSI is grateful to Barclays Bank for their continued support which has enabled them to fulfill their mandate of unlocking the potential within young people and creating realizable opportunities," she added.

Ms Nkarabang said the programme compromised of four modules being money Skills, covering topics like spending and saving wisely, a step-by-step guide to creating your own budget, sticking to it and understanding and using credit to your advantage.

She said entrepreneurial skills was the second module with topics like considering self-employment, key things to new business owners who should know about the marketplace and Setting up their businesses.

The third module included work skills that coveredthe world of work, how to get in and stay by creating a CV that you can be proud of, identifying, pursuing and getting what you want and Interviewing the right way," she said.

She said the last module was people skills which covered developing effective people skills, developing effective communication skills and understanding emotional intelligence.

Ms Nkarabang said attendants are tested at the end of each module and those who did well are usually given certificates. BOPA