Sage supports South African youth in building their careers post-COVID

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 29 April 2021 – Sage, the market leader for cloud business management solutions, will sharpen its focus on youth skills development in South Africa as part of the company's commitment to transformation and the rebuilding the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Sage welcomed 63 young professionals into its graduate programme this financial year, supporting them with life skills, work readiness training, workplace mentorship, and coaching. This experience will help prepare them for success by building valuable skills and expertise to help boost their early careers.

The interns are placed in different lines of the business, including Customer Success, Legal, Marketing, IT, Product Delivery, Sales, Partners and Alliances, HR, and Transformation, with a focus on developing and transferring workplace experience.

"With the country still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sage is determined to play a key role in driving economic inclusion by supporting youth empowerment, development and growth, which will help drive economic revival," says Faith Ramusetheli, Transformation Director for Africa & Middle East at Sage.

"We are committed to supporting digital and economic transformation and skills development by pulling every lever in our transformation and people strategy, from employment equity to enterprise development. We also aim to help drive socio-economic growth in the communities in which we live and work by supporting youth and small business development," she adds.

Last year, Sage welcomed 70 interns, 52% of whom have been placed successfully. The intern programme is one of several Sage initiatives aimed at youth skills development and job creation – other ways Sage is addressing the youth unemployment crisis are:

• Partnership with Yes4Youth: Sage has partnered with the Youth Employment Service (YES) organisation to create employment for 160 youth from previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa. The programme will run for 12 months. The aim is to address unemployment, alleviate poverty, support sustainable businesses, and help the South African economy recover.
Sage has placed 50 youths within the Sage business partner ecosystem to train them on Sage solutions, sales and technical skills.  A further 110 have been placed with an external partner to enable inclusive growth in the digital economy and build a pipeline of future-ready employees with market-relevant digital skills to meet industry demands. They will be trained as junior software developers, junior digital administrators and junior data administrators.

 

• Bursaries for university students: Last year, Sage offered bursaries to 71 youths from previously disadvantaged communities, including youth living with disabilities. This bursary programme assists the youth in furthering their studies through registered public universities to empower them to achieve greater success. This year, Sage has once again invested in this programme, underscoring its commitment to transformation.

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