Partnerships that work to benefit the youth of South Africa

e4 and National Skills Fund partner unlock the potential of technology graduates through extensive internship program

Internships provide a vital link between academic learning and professional employment, and with strategic partnerships, these internships can be effective for business and the youth.

With this in mind, e4 partnered with the EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative and the National Skills Fund (NSF) Project and Internship Program to give aspiring technology graduates the opportunity to gain both valuable and practical work experience to help kick-start their careers.

Riaan de Bruyn, e4 Applications Development Manager, explains that some of the top technology graduates were selected to be part of an intensive year-long e4 internship. Since March this year, the interns have progressed from their initial training phase, which included a deeper exposure to programming skills and software development to embarking on a special internal project, which will see the interns put their new skills to good use in the development of a brand-new business application.

“Our graduates are now halfway through this project and are progressing extremely well in the development of an application that will enable our support centre to resolve a comprehensive list of first-line queries for e4’s clients,” notes De Bruyn.

EOH led the call for businesses across South Africa to take on a number of unemployed youth across the country in learnership and intern programmes to provide the necessary work experience required to prepare them for full-time employment. EOH has since facilitated the partnership between e4 and NSF.

The mission of the National Skills Fund (NSF) is to provide funding for a variety of skills development towards a capable workforce for an inclusive growth path.

JC Mellet, Operations Manager for Learning and Development at EOH highlights the importance of internships and says that many employers list internships as a pre-requisite for their new hires and that places many applicants on the back foot. “Through the EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative, we encourage businesses across South Africa to open up their doors to graduates and unemployed youth to assist in bridging the gap of being employable by offering meaningful work experiences. Partnerships like NSF and e4 enable this gap to be bridged,” adds Mellet.

De Bruyn says e4 is committed to the NSF Project and Internship Program as part of an ongoing initiative to source new talent in the industry, while simultaneously contributing to job creation as the ultimate goal is to employ the graduates upon completion of their internship.