FutureMe, a new social enterprise aimed at addressing the youth unemployment crisis in South Africa, through a work-readiness education process that enables young people to make a smooth transition to the world of work, officially launches 25 November 2016.
The holistic, technology-enabled programme targets high school students and is currently piloting with grade nine learners in Silikamva High School and Christel House South Africa in the Western Cape.
FutureMe, founded and directed by Nicky van Hille, Ursula Cooper, Lindy Dlamini and Michelle Sprackett, aims to bridge the gap between young people at high school level, and the working world.
According to Stats SA, 65%1 of the unemployed in South Africa are under the age of 35, and research conducted by research and strategy consultancy, The Moss Group, found young people’s lack of work-readiness (hard and soft skills) as a key driver of the low employment levels.
“The Moss Group’s research indicated that this lack of preparation for the working world was due to gaps at various stages along the youth’s development cycle,” says Michelle Sprackett, co-founder and head of operations for FutureMe.
“Some of the challenges include teachers who mostly are ill-prepared to support learners in educating and preparing them for the working world, due to their own limited understanding of the world of work and not being equipped to prepare the learners with the appropriate hard and soft skills.”
“Other challenges we have encountered have been learners’ narrow understanding of career and study options, poor guidance in subject choices and low self-esteem amongst the pupils.”
The FutureMe programme intends to address these problems by awakening young people to their potential and interests. Delivered as part of Life Orientation in high schools, the FutureMe NPO2 curriculum uses a blended learning approach, covering modules in self-awareness, career options and skills development.
Further to this, the programme’s end goal is to connect learners with employers.
“FutureMe is currently developing an app designed to allow individuals to design and build an interactive CV, and further to this will be launching a World of Work Festival that encourages engagement and on-going relationship building amongst learners – for the purposes of gaining first hand exposure to the working and business world, as well as building early relationships with employers eager to invest in developing young, work-ready talent, especially in those areas where skills are scarce,” says Sprackett.
The intention is for the FutureMe programme to continue to play a role in the lives of learners once they have left school and to benefit employers by way of directly engaging with the future workforce.
“We want to enable learners to present their skills in a compelling and professional manner to potential employers, and our hope is that the FutureMe platform, developed by Azuro Business Solutions and supported by Microsoft’s BizSpark programme, will empower learners to create digital resumés that can open doors to a brighter future.”
All school-related work is done through the FutureMe NPO and at this point relies on funding from in-kind contributions and donations. Going forward, NPO funding will be raised through a sustainable financial model and several income streams, including company sponsorships.
FutureMe will officially launch at their upcoming World of Work Festival where employers and other key stakeholders will participate to create an exciting and interactive festival for the learners of Silikamva High School and Christel House, as well as several other Cape Town-based high schools.
The FutureMe programme actively benefits learners, businesses and government by focusing on building communities around career interests and using technological innovation to provide a national solution to unemployment.
“We have met with Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille and Education Minister, Debbie Schafer, regarding FutureMe, as the programme aligns with some of their key focus areas, such as Skills Development and E-learning. The programme also supports the government’s National Development Plan and 2020 goals to combat the unemployment crisis and will be rolled out nationwide in the next two years,” says Sprackett.
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I love people like this because it goes to show that South Africa has a future to look forward to… Can’t wait to be part of this different stroke in time to shape the future.