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New Futures is
a Youth Employability Programme currently being piloted
by SchoolNet South Africa in Johannesburg and evaluated
by SAIDE. Maryla Biolobrzeska provides an overview of
the programme and some of the initial findings.
Introduction
The New Futures Programme (NFP) was born out of a partnership
between Microsoft US, the Academy for Education Development
(AED) and American NGO and SchoolNet South Africa. Microsoft
donated funding to AED to implement a youth employability
programme with the aim of providing IT technical support
to the NGO industry in South Africa. AED, having run
a youth employability programme in Brazil with school
leavers in 2003/4 had successfully developed a hands
on project-based approach to student learning. They
were well positioned to provide initial support and
guidance to the SchoolNet team to implement the NFP.
Aims and Objectives
The programme's primary aim is to address the fact that
youth unemployment is at an unacceptably high level,
and that young men and women are not adequately prepared
for entering and succeeding in the workplace. The programme
aims to do this by equipping the participants with the
relevant information and communications technology (ICT)
and employability skills that they need for securing
work. Through an integrated mix of life skills, work
place readiness, entrepreneurship and hands on experience
and mentoring, the project seeks to provide young people
with the skills needed to secure decent employment and/or
self-employment in entry-level ICT technical support
positions.
Programme Structure
The pilot was conducted in two phases with two groups
of approximately 20 participants over a period of six
and four months respectively. The participants were
required to attend sessions for about six hours a day.
The programme is structured in three phases:
- The focus for the first month is around orientating
the participants to the way the New Futures Programme
operates. The participants are introduced to the idea
that they are now being required to take responsibility
for their own learning. Activities to assist with
this transition include a discussion on the participants’
expectations of the programme and instilling important
values and behaviours such as respect for the group
and time keeping.
- The second phase focuses on developing the core
activities of the programme, the ICT technical skills
and employability skills. This is an intense period
of equipping the participants with both ‘hard’
and ‘soft’ skills in an integrated way.
- The final phase prepares and supports the participants
to make the transition from the programme to the world
of work. Activities such as effective CV writing,
interviewing skills, and starting your own business
are addressed. Participants are also given an increasing
amount of time to search for and apply for jobs, with
the assistance and guidance of the programme facilitators.
While this phased approach serves to frame the programme
delivery, it is not implemented rigidly. Rather this
is done in a flexible and responsive manner. For example,
if opportunities around specific preparation for the
workplace arise before the ‘official’ final
phase of the programme, such opportunities are maximized.
During every session, regardless of the topic focus,
the facilitators reflected with the participants on
the relevance of the specific topic to their preparation
for employment. This flexible yet strategic approach
allows the team to integrate the participants’
specific needs, interests and desires into the overall
structure of the programme. For more details on the
programme, content, delivery and support methods
click here.
Initial Programme Pilot Results
As the second phase of the New Futures Programme pilot
is still in progress, results reflected here pertain
to the first phase. However the findings of the first
phase have already been fed into the second, thus significantly
strengthening the second programme delivery.
- The Importance of Programme Attendance
Overall, there appears to be a correlation between
participant attendance and the level of transformation
reported by the project team. Those whose attendance
was 70% or lower did not exhibit significant changes
in behaviour or attitudes and were not identified
by the project team as those who would be most likely
be successful on completion of the programme. Those
whose attendance was above 70% showed great improvement
in their skills and ability to communicate effectively
and in their attitude towards their peers and facilitators.
- Shift in Participant Perceptions
In a baseline survey undertaken by all participants
at the commencement of the first pilot, 85% cited
‘lack of experience’ as the main cause
of unemployment, with 63% stating ‘lack of skills’
as another significant cause. When these perceptions
were further unpacked during the ‘Pathways to
Employability’ learning project, the majority
of participants seemed to feel that the main reasons
they were unemployed had to do with external factors,
such as employees not giving graduates enough opportunities
or the government not assisting enough in terms of
job creation. They also believed that universities
or colleges do not adequately prepare young people
for the realities of the working world. By the end
of the programme most participants appreciated that
they could not only blame external factors for their
unemployment. They realized it was important to acknowledge
their own role in the situation.
- Overall Changes in Attitudes, Behaviours
and Skill Level
The areas in which the programme appears to have had
the most impact include:
- Improved ICT skills particularly with regards
to understanding hardware, software installation,
troubleshooting, setting up and maintaining networks
and understanding and maintenance of servers.
- Improved presentation skills including voice
projection and modulation, breathing and relaxation
techniques, Powerpoint and Prezi skills, gathering
and summarising information and planning and presenting
an informative, engaging presentation.
- Increased self-confidence and belief in one’s
abilities and innate talents.
- A more positive attitude to life and a greater
sense of one’s own responsibility for one’s
future.
- Greater awareness of and access to the resources
available for searching for job opportunities,
such as websites and personal and professional
networks.
Conclusion
Participants interviewed all endorsed the programme’s
relevance and spoke enthusiastically about its value.
(See testimonials).
More than half of the pilot programme participants -
52% of those that have completed the programme have
managed to secure employment and/or a combination of
employment with further skilling opportunities as in
the case of the two learnerships and three internships
(work-based learning positions). In all instances some
income is being generated, thus successfully achieving
one of the key objectives of the programme.
As the pilot draws to a close, the programme’s
future hinges on further funding being secured. There
is no doubt that this pilot programme has been a success
– lives have been transformed and the young people
involved were afforded opportunities – and given
hope – that they otherwise would not have had.
Through the work of this programme, a small yet significant
difference in the rate of youth unemployment in South
Africa has been made.
For further information about this programme or to offer
support to enable its continuence, please contact the
Director, SchoolNet SA, Janet
Thomson.
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