Youth agency Livity Africa has announced that 15 Johannesburg-based youth are set to join digital agencies, following their participation in a "digital boot camp", conducted in partnership with Google and the Interactive Advertising Bureau of SA.
According to the agency, the students will join agencies such as Native VML and Retroviral, following their successful completion of the programme, dubbed Digify.
Digify launched in May and trained students between the ages of 18 to 25 on digital campaigns, social media skills and content creation, as well as Google modules including Search, Ad Words, YouTube and Analytics.
Gavin Weale, MD of Livity Africa, says SA needs to turn at least a quarter of currently unemployed South Africans into digital professionals - an aim Digify wants to achieve by creating "a consistent pipeline of capable and employable young talent into brands and agencies".
"We've been pioneering vocational internships focused on sourcing young talent for 14 years in the UK and SA, but Digify is a new strand that is responding directly to a clear and present industry need for digital talent from diverse backgrounds," he says.
Rising unemployment
SA's unemployment has risen to 25%, according to Statistics SA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey, while 36% of young people are without a job. This figure does not include discouraged unemployed people, who have given up seeking work.
At the launch of Digify, Livity Africa noted it aimed to produce "job-smart and work-ready" candidates in a bid to bolster the number of digital professionals, while playing a part in addressing unemployment in Johannesburg.
"We are proud to announce that our first group of Digifyers have completed the three-month training, and following an intensive interview process, many of our participants have already secured roles in digital agencies including Native VML and Retroviral. We aim to place all graduates in paid entry-level jobs or internships in the digital industry," adds Weale.
Google SA provided funding and mentorship throughout the programme. The company's marketing manager Elizma Nolte says SA needs to harness opportunities presented by its growing digital economy.
Native VML will take on five of the recent Digify graduates, according to Vanessa Gibb, who heads the human resources department at the company. "With its direct links to industry, Digify is a crucial vocational training programme which will help bridge the skills gaps faced by young people transitioning from university to their first career in digital."
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