The graduates from part of the 12-month Unemployed Youth Assistance Programme (UYAP) run by Retail Relate, which consists of comprehensive training in retail management and a 12-month internships at leading retailers such as the Essential Hardware Group, AutoZone, Hoxies Foods and TWK stores.
The 16 new UJ students are part of a group of 160 young adults, all of whom come from the informal and rural areas of Gauteng, who graduated from the UYAP last year with NQF 5 qualifications in retail management. The qualifications and experience they earned during that programme ensured that most of the graduates secured jobs shortly after completing their internships.
This is in sharp contrast to their prospects two years ago when, after completing their matric, they faced a daily battle of uncertainty and fear of the future. While their excellent matric results qualified them for tertiary studies, difficult financial conditions at home ruled out this possibility. Their lack of qualifications and experience also prevented them from finding jobs.
"Higher education minister Blade Nzimande has highlighted the problem that graduates battle to find jobs because of a lack of workplace experience and we agree that this needs to be addressed," said Leigh Blochlinger, CEO of Retail Relate. "Therefore we will continue to ensure that our training programmes include sufficient components of on-the-job experience."
Head of UJ's Retail Management Faculty, Mariette Frazer, is delighted with the arrival of the new recruits. "Having the year's internship under their belts and the thorough training, including the life skills components, these youngsters are more than ready to tackle first year university."
The 16 students will continue to gain workplace experience during their studies through Foschini Group, another of the scheme's retail partners, which has agreed to provide them with vacation jobs.
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