Internfit - a new online internship portal - aims to connect students and graduates to internship programmes offered by various employers in a bid to curb unemployment in SA.
The portal aims to boost work experience prospects for graduates, while encouraging employers to capitalise on the Employment Tax Incentive, by hiring young and less experienced work-seekers.
David Feinberg, founder of the portal, says: "Only around 12% of South Africans have a tertiary education. One would imagine that in a skills-starved economy they are in high demand, but unfortunately finding an internship can be an extremely frustrating experience for both employers who get many requests and for the students who often have to contact each company individually.
"Traditionally, corporates have been the main employer of interns with structured programmes which help to maximise the experience for the intern, and to meet the long-term human resource requirements for the company."
Feinberg says Internfit has around 6 000 students and graduates available for positions nationally, including those qualified for careers in IT, marketing and finance. "We are working with listed companies like Bidvest, Discovery and Liberty Life, as well as many smaller companies including start-ups."
Curb unemployment
Internfit joins a number of companies working to curb unemployment through training or practical experience initiatives.
Youth agency Livity Africa recently announced the second intake of its Digify training programme for Johannesburg-based youth.
Starting next month, fifteen people between the ages of 18 to 25 will receive training on digital campaigns, social media skills and content creation, as well as Google modules including Search, Ad Words, YouTube and Analytics.
"We aim to place all graduates in paid entry-level jobs or internships in the digital industry and we're proud to say that all of our first Digify graduates were offered paid job or internship opportunities," says Gavin Weale, MD of Livity Africa. Recent graduates were placed in digital agencies, following their participation in the programme.
Meanwhile, EOH runs its Youth Job Creation initiative to create learnerships for matriculants, internships for graduates, and to boost e-skills among local youth.
According to Statistics SA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey, SA's unemployment has risen to 25%, while 36% of young people are without a job. This figure does not include discouraged unemployed people, who have given up seeking work.
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