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.
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.