Deb Fuller, Group Executive, Human Resource, Nedbank: Showcasing the Youth Employment Service and jobs of the future
![Deb Fuller, Group Executive, Human Resource, Nedbank](https://news.topco.co.za/hubfs/Deborah%20Fuller.jpg)
How is Nedbank addressing youth unemployment?
Nedbank has a multi-pronged approach to addressing youth unemployment from learnerships, graduate programmes (such as the Quants Graduate Programme, CIB Young Analysts Graduate Programme and the Chartered Accountant Training Programme) and quality work experience programmes such as the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme.
The total annual intake of the above structured young talent programmes in 2023 was 2 910 young individuals. This is evidence of Nedbank’s scaled approach to combating youth unemployment and creating first time job opportunities in South Africa.
In addition to this, Nedbank addresses youth unemployment by investing in bursaries for university students, particularly focusing on future focused scarce skills, and including green economy related qualifications. In addition to funding Nedbank’s annual YES intake, in 2023, Nedbank invested R30.5-million in bursary funding for students across the country’s public universities.
In particular, the YES programme is a business-led collaboration with the government to reduce unemployment by providing unemployed youth with a year-long work experience opportunity to develop new skills and gain meaningful workplace exposure that, in turn, will significantly improve their employability and entrepreneurial prospects by close to three times. Since Nedbank’s support for YES in 2019, Nedbank has created first time employment opportunities for more than 13 500 previously unemployed young people.
The Nedbank YES programme has an intake of youth within the Nedbank business as well as with strategically chosen Implementation Partner organisations that have a sustainability focus. This approach enables a scaled programme that is integrated with Nedbank’s broader ESG and nation-building strategy.
The objectives of YES resonate strongly with Nedbank’s purpose and we recognise this programme as integral to our talent pipeline, bringing in young talent which can make a difference in the organisation. As a purpose-led organisation, we strongly believe that our business success cannot exist in isolation from the communities in which we operate.
Nedbank’s participation in the YES programme, as well as the above-mentioned young talent programmes, is an investment in building a sustainable and more inclusive economic future for SA.
Nedbank has been participating in the Youth Employment Service since 2019. What are the overall proof points underpinning Nedbank’s continued participation?
Proof points that underpin our participation in the initiative include the following:
Cumulative work experience opportunities created
Nedbank recently announced the induction of its YES cohort for 2024, bringing the cumulative intake at the bank since the programme launched in 2019 to more than 13 500 previously unemployed youth. The scale of this impact means thousands of young South Africans have improved employability and entrepreneurial prospects, impacting the families and communities they come from. It is also important to note that our programme has a 63% female intake.
![Deborah_Fuller head and shoulder](https://news.topco.co.za/hubfs/Deborah_Fuller%20head%20and%20shoulder.jpg)
Youth salaries injected into the economy, contributing to the nation’s economic growth
Over the years, Nedbank has injected just over R460-million into the economy through YES Youth salaries. This financial input not only supports the participants and their families but also stimulates South African economic growth and activity.
Skill development at scale:
The programme creates a pathway for essential skills development and transfer. At Nedbank, this is realised through a blended learning structure which includes curated learning (addressing both technical and professional capabilities), structured work readiness training, mentorship as well as on-the-job experiential training and work exposure.
Absorption into work opportunities (both within and outside of Nedbank) post the programme
The YES organisation tracks post-programme employment of all YES Youth alumni and for Nedbank has been able to report 36% post-programme employment of our alumni. This figure far exceeds the guided 2.5% absorption. Looking closer at the Nedbank intake: In 2023 Nedbank absorbed over 250 participants from the 2022 YES programme intake in our business, representing an internal absorption rate of more than 40%. The majority of participants were absorbed in Retail and Business Banking (RBB), Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), and Group Technology where they fulfil various roles ranging from client-centred to data driven roles.
ESG impact of the Implementation Partnerships with sustainability focused organisations offering YES Youth work exposure in the green economy
YES Youth who gain their work experience with our Implementation Partners gain experience in roles within the renewable energy (solar installation) sector, wildlife conservation, sustainable agriculture as well as education sectors. This aligns to our Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) strategy impacting SDGs 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13 and 15. This exemplifies SDG 17, highlighting the importance of partnerships in achieving these global goals.
What sets Nedbank’s approach apart from how other companies are responding to the challenge of youth unemployment?
Nedbank’s approach to addressing youth unemployment is differentiated by:
- Scale and impact;
- Alignment to green economy skills;
- Significant investment into university bursary funding aligned to future focused scarce skills; and
- Immersive structured young talent programmes with a blended learning approach and a focus on wellbeing.
Nedbank’s Purpose is to use our financial expertise to do good for individuals, families, businesses and society. The above not only puts our purpose into practice, but also unlocks a talent pipeline for Nedbank and South Africa.
Nedbank was celebrated for this at the 2023 ESG Africa Conference, where Nedbank was recognised as the largest contributor to the YES programme. The bank was also recognised for its purpose-driven social impact as part of the YES programme. hence the importance we place on ESG in its entirety, which is reflected in the type of sectors and jobs we prioritise as part of the YES programme.
In terms of jobs of the future, how is Nedbank responding to the changing world of work?
For 2024 and beyond, our focus is to invest in a sustainable pipeline of skills with the necessary talent and skills required to fulfil our strategic ambitions. The Nedbank strategy, which is enabled by our world-class technology platform and our people, is delivered through five strategic value unlocks: digital leadership and digital experiences; market-leading client-experiences; focusing on areas that create value; efficient execution; and creating positive impacts (including delivering on our purpose and maintaining our leadership in ESG matters).
Innovative tech skills (for example AI and Machine Learning) that lead the adoption of emerging technologies are key to amplifying the digital experience for Nedbank clients and employees. Our world-class multibillion-rand digital IT stack enables the delivery of innovative digital solutions – looking ahead, we aim to leverage the foundations we have put in place to expand our digital capabilities.
At Nedbank, client obsession is at the heart of our culture – our retail business has retained the no.1 Net Promoter Score rank for the past two years (Kantar). Skills that ensure exceptional client experiences, such as User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Client Experience (CX), Human Experience (HX) and Data-driven Design skills, are a key focus of our human capital development agenda.
Data and analytics skills (for example Data Science, Quantitative, Statistics, Actuarial, and Data Analysis and Reporting) that leverage Nedbank’s data infrastructure to unlock actionable insights for informed decision-making are among our sought-after capabilities.
Nedbank’s Target Operating Model (TOM) programme is aimed at optimising our branch infrastructure and organisational structure, with ongoing focus on unlocking value from our technology investment. Skills that support operational excellence, that is, streamlining processing and boosting productivity (for example Agile, Lean Six Sigma, Operations Management) by leveraging data are in demand, as are emerging risk capabilities such as Cyber Risk, Climate Risk and Open-banking Risk, amongst others.
In line with our purpose (‘to use our financial expertise to do good’) and our leadership position in sustainable-development (renewable energy) finance, ESG-related skills, including Specialised Finance and Sustainable Finance, are also a key focus for 2024 and beyond.
Digital transformation and fast-paced technological change, ongoing regulatory changes, and evolving customer needs are driving the demand for critical new capabilities and skills, both locally and globally.
Given the scarcity of certain skills, especially digital skills, we believe that financial services organisations will have to collaborate with educational institutions and other partners to ensure that the necessary skills are developed at pace and across industries, to support our collective transformation objectives.
With many of these skills in short supply in the market, at Nedbank we are using our strategic workforce and proactive people development plans to continue to invest significantly in reskilling and upskilling our existing workforce with these critical skills to provide our people with career growth opportunities, minimise job losses and build a flowing pipeline of talent in the long-term.