Johannesburg, South Africa - 14 September 2017 – Unilever’s latest Youth Employability portal is set to help Africa’s youth become more employable through skills development on an accessible digital platform. The platform aims to assist one million talented young people across the continent by equipping them with the skills and tools that will improve their chances of being employed.
The portal forms part of Unilever’s continued commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen and was launched to a group of 80 students at the Park Inn, in Sandton. Two out of eight modules found on the portal were presented to the students during the launch where the Unilever Africa Leadership Team also conducted mentorship sessions with the group.
“Africa’s youth unemployment is one of the worst in the world with 60 percent of the continent’s jobless being the youth, as per the World Bank. Statistics South Africa has communicated that South Africa is fast approaching that figure, with youth unemployment reaching 55, 9 percent.
“It is clear that action needs to be taken to bring these numbers down. As a top employer in South Africa and the rest of Africa, we consider it our duty to play our part in addressing this concern by equipping our future leaders with the right skills for the modern workplace,” says Mechell Chetty HR Vice President Africa - Unilever South Africa.
As such, Unilever’s easily accessible online platform – known as LevelUP – will feature the eight skills modules as well as interactive live webinar sessions hosted by a wide cross-section of Unilever’s leading thinkers and business veterans. Access to these resources and tools will add real and measurable value to these young people’s lives by enhancing their employability.
“When our youth begin to thrive, our wider communities and economies will automatically benefit. By continuing to invest in young people and providing them with opportunities to reach their full potential, we will begin to see a much brighter future evolve along with more prosperous communities,” concluded Chetty.