First National Bank has announced that it will provide 250 youth with work experience in fields such as information technology, commerce, data and analytics, and engineering in its annual graduate programme.
One of South Africa’s major banking institutions, FNB released a statement, saying youth employment and skills development continue to be big challenges in South Africa.
In line with the country’s efforts to improve the employment prospects of the youth, FNB says it continues to look at sustainable ways to assist youth and young talent in developing the necessary skills that will help them in the future.
Donald Khumalo, FNB human capital executive, said they have been running the graduate programme for several years,
“This programme continues to play a critical role in nurturing business leaders of the future and producing the skills that South Africa desperately needs,” Khumalo said in a statement.
“Our investment in young talent is consistent with our business ethos of ‘How can we help you?’, as we recognise that a lack of work experience is often a barrier for young people seeking employment opportunities.
“Our focus on critical skills further affirms FNB’s strategic ambition to build a platform business of the future.”
In addition, the financial service provider said its Graduate Programme supports, mentors and affords young people opportunities to contribute through participation in real business projects, innovations and engagements with experts around key initiatives.
As things stand, FNB has trained and supported over 1 000 graduates who are now senior leaders in some of its business units as CEOs, heads of departments, etc.
Head of young talent at FNB Human Capital Joanna Preston said: “Since the pandemic, the way we communicate, engage, attract and select talent for our graduate recruitment has shifted.
“The move to a virtual way of working has given rise to a multitude of innovative ways of communicating and engaging students through interactive online events, digital interviews, assessments, as well as digital onboarding.
“Since 2020, graduates have had the opportunity to work on over 20 different solutions, such as customer education in branches, spend classification on the FNB app, structured trade and commodity financing, chatbots and analytics; this also includes other app-related improvements.
“The extraordinary support from the teams in which graduates are placed leads to opportunities to unlock innovation, global competitiveness and social upliftment while creating connections and relationships that contribute to young people’s prospects.”
