South Africa has come a long way during its 28 years of democracy but there is still plenty of work to be done. Reflecting on youth month, in particular, we have been reminded of the tremendous role young people have to play in society, and therefore the importance of upskilling the youth. More and more, we are seeing increased demands being placed on young people, especially when it comes to the skills and qualifications required in order to find work. That’s why it is vital for basic skills training to become more accessible and supportive. Mintor’s chat-based training process provides the ideal solution, giving people self-service tools that support skills development and job readiness for the working world.
Of course, a key challenge in South Africa is that a third of the population doesn’t have access to the tools or support they need. They might lack a computer, mobile data or an in-person HR manager to help them get a job and keep it. For this reason, training for interviews and skills development are often inaccessible, and this can present a major barrier to young people’s progress in the world of work. Read more …
These issues also pose a challenge for the HR teams responsible for training these workforces. Without the ability to provide proper in-person training, or to deliver quality electronic resources, HR managers struggle to ensure effective upskilling of employees. Often, an HR team will end up having to spend more time dealing with issues and queries rather than training staff.
Mintor solves these issues by introducing a number of tools accessible via WhatsApp, which is already used by 85% of South Africans. These tools enable organisations to reach deep into rural and urban communities, helping to close the digital divide. The chat-based solution means people can easily learn new skills, build a CV or prepare for an interview. In this way, Mintor empowers communities with a chance to improve their own lives from anywhere, at any time.
Shoprite is the perfect case study for what Mintor offers.
Shoprite engaged with thousands of young people as part of its give-back campaign last year. The company and its new k’nect mobile network leveraged Mintor’s platform to empower young customers with a CV-building tool and interview skills training, all through WhatsApp. Within just four weeks, more than 20,000 young people from all over South Africa had taken advantage of the opportunity, and most of them had never previously had access to career support. In return, the young people completed a customer survey that provided the company with invaluable customer insights on its new product range.
A chat-based solution can be beneficial to everyone – whether they are young people looking for career support, employees looking to improve their skills or HR managers trying to support large remote workforces. This is the ideal way to ensure the upskilling of South Africa’s youth in order to continue fostering growth and development.
