Youth Employment Accelerator

Objective

To match young work-seekers from poor households to available jobs, and provide them with competence and work-readiness bridging to increase job access, inclusion, and service the needs of potential employers.

Overview and Main Activities

The Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a demand-led organization that places first-time work-seekers into entry-level roles. Harambee partners with more than 100 employers, ranging from SMEs to large corporate and state-owned enterprises from various sectors, including retail, tourism, banking, business process outsourcing and manufacturing.

The expected outcomes of the programme are to:

• Increase the pool of work-ready candidates
• Unlock pathways for previously excluded youth to access opportunities in the formal economy
• Develop empirical evidence to understand success factors and challenges of absorbing and retaining first-timers in the world of work

The following demand-supply matching processes are designed to scale the delivery model:

• Employer contracting: Working with employers to understand entry-level staff needs and to agree on a placement pipeline from Harambee.
• Job matching: Screening and assessment methodology to scientifically match candidates to suitable opportunities, based on their potential, behavioural fit, area and competence.
• “Step-up” programmes: Providing training to youth who initially missed the industry threshold criteria because of low entrance-assessment scores.
• Work-readiness bridging: Providing tools and behaviours to help participants succeed in the world of work. These include the basics of work life, time management, maths and English-language skills, computer skills and budgeting.
• Linking and referring candidates: Includes a range of employment, work and learning opportunities, such as arranging interviews with Harambee employer partners.
• Placement and retention monitoring: As candidates transition into the world of work, Harambee monitors retention and works with employers to improve likelihood of candidates’ success, retention and progression.

Harambee works with economic sectors, cities and geographic regions across public and private sectors to enable more efficient and effective absorption of young work-seekers in support of inclusive growth. Harambee partners with government as a funder and an employer. It shares empirical evidence to contribute to policy formulation and to support government programmes addressing youth unemployment. Harambee also partners with universities, think tanks and research organizations to grow the knowledge base on youth unemployment and entry level labour market dynamics.

Success Factors and Challenges

Most critical success factors:

• Market-focussed, flexible and responsive operating model and organizational DNA
• Ability to sustain multiple employer and stakeholder partnerships across public and private sector
• Success stories to on-board additional employers
• Experienced personnel to build and run large-scale organizations and networks
• Sophisticated data-driven cost efficiency and scalable systems

Main challenges:

• Uncertain demand and changing needs and priorities of employers
• Maintaining quality and results across a rapidly scaling and expanding organization
• High cost of closing the work-readiness gap for young people with education and behavioural readiness gaps relative to employer willingness to pay for entry-level talent services
• Building trust with employers and young work-seekers

Recommendations for Others

Successfully implementing this initiative requires a dedicated group of partners who commit to learn together and take a long-term view of the problem in a structured demand-schedule. Involved partners need to work collaboratively to identify the demand-supply mismatch and what market inefficiency needs to be solved. The organization needs to be demand-focussed, results orientated, evidence-based and able to respond to the changing needs of employers and young people.

Replicability and Scalability

How easily could other organizations implement this initiative?
Difficult: Implementing this model requires strong, senior partnerships across the public, private and social sectors. It also requires shifting employers’ mindsets, building a brand with work-seekers and an organization flexible to the changing needs of the market.

How easily can this initiative be expanded to include a larger number of participants?
Easy

About the Organization

Website: www.harambee.co.za
Sector: Non-Profit
Size (number of employees): Up to 1,000
Headquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa

For Further Engagement

Contact name: Maryana Iskander
Contact position: Chief Executive Officer
Email: [email protected]