Early last year John Thompson rolled out their first ever YES (Youth Employment Service) training programme. The aim was to take unemployed youth and to provide them with on-the-job training.
To further these trainees’ chances of employability, John Thompson placed the learners onto a Level 4 project management learnership through an accredited training provider. Project management is an important skill for employees to have, regardless of the role that they hold.
The YES programme opportunity was advertised nationally, with those applicants who met the requirements being shortlisted and interviewed and we ultimately placed six trainees onto the programme.
These learners had the opportunity not only to receive a national certificate in project management but to gain experience in either dispatch, operations management, industrial engineering or projects.
Two of the trainees were employed on a full-time basis at the end of the course. Matthews Dipudi has been hired as a Junior Project Engineer in the Air Pollution Control business unit in Johannesburg and Krinolen Naidoo has been hired as a Junior Proposals Engineer in the Industrial Watertube business unit in Durban.
It is unfortunate that we were not able to employ all the trainees on a fulltime basis. We hope that the other four will find fulltime employment with the skills and experience they have gained in the 12 months with John Thompson.
“We intend to run another YES programme this year and hope to create a platform for youth to gain skills that will create a lifetime of opportunities,” said Denise Claassene, John Thompson’s Learning & Development Specialist, who project-managed the pilot programme.
