Port Elizabeth - Isuzu Motors South Africa (IMSAf) is supporting the Youth Employment Service (YES) Programme and has placed 72 candidates for the first time this year.

The YES programme was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 with the aim to offer young South Africans paid work experience.

Wayne Osborne, Isuzu Motors South Africa General Manager of Training and Organisational Development, said the company fully supports economic transformation initiatives. “We are committed to the growth and development of young South Africans and we believe that our youth deserve opportunities which accelerate employ-ability. It is our intention, that through the YES Programme, we will create a pipeline of talent for the future” said Osborne.

The programme presents learners with an opportunity for 12-months. Of the 72 learners, 20 have been placed within the dealer network throughout the country, while 52 candidates have been deployed across the company.

Osborne said the programme provides the candidates with insight into a large corporation while they gain practical work experience. “The trainees will receive all the necessary support and are guided and mentored by professionals within the company.”

According to the latest statistics from Statistics South Africa the youth aged between 15 and 24 years are the most vulnerable in the South African labour market, this as the unemployment rate among this age group was at 55,2% in the first quarter of 2019.