Botswana Jobs For Graduates

If selected a winner i will use the funds to establish Youth Employment Ambassadors in the 57 constituencies that will act as a link to employment initiatives, as well will facilitate job readiness skills training, availing of job opportunities, think tank space to provide entrepreneurship development among others. The same model will be adopted to have ambassadors in universities to bridge the gap between the academic and world of work. There are many untapped job creation opportunities in rural areas that can be taken advantage of and this needs a robust plan to have many contributors for community jobs using resources in that locality. This personnel will translate to us using the fund for targeted 50 000 youths trained in job readiness across the country in 12 months. 

This will feed into my long term plan of establishing at least 4 youth employment centers around the country within 5 years. Will also act as one stop shop providing interaction with jobseekers and employers with a database that will connect the two.

I will utilize the training provided to network with other community changers, facilitators as well as intensifying partnerships and sharing best practices. 

Growing up as an individual I was always fascinated by people around me who brought change even in its smallest form. I developed in me a yearning to impact change to my peers as I started to question uncommon occurrences in my community. It was inevitable that my career path would lead me to youth empowerment activism and leadership where I enjoy bringing out the best from young people whilst I gain growth from their encounter and their personal experience.

9years ago after watching  fellow young people consumed by idleness after graduating, I co-founded Botswana Jobs For Graduates to act as a remedy for addressing Youth unemployment. Taking advantage of social media, I have built the largest online youth movement of over 450 000 people and have assisted over 12 000 to employed through the initiative. I aspire to make it a national movement that will reduce the youth unemployment in Botswana and the rest of Africa. 

In 2018, the estimated youth unemployment rate in Botswana by World Bank was at 37.14 percent. In a study on Youth Employment by Dr Mpho Pheko, University of Botswana she states  that “the level of youth unemployment in the country indicates that education is not sufficiently preparing school leavers for the world of work in terms of skills, attitudes and/or expectations and for this reason educational providers are commonly blamed for creating ‘unemployable graduate.” 

This has also alluded to severe mismatch between skills of young workers and those needed by employers which constantly calls a  need for skills development and goes a long way in preparing young people for the evolving labour market. The relatively high rates of criminal activities are often exceedingly attributed youth unemployment. 

Taking advantage of social media my organization built a platform that has over 450 000 members that shares job opportunities to young people, job readiness skills training online and inperson. A database that matches young job seekers with over 250 employers. The initiative has assisted over 12 000 young people to employed.

The initiative is taking advantage of social media, with an emphasis on Facebook, to reach the target masses of graduates through a language they best understood. At the point of inception all network providers in Botswana had a version of free Facebook hence there was a lot of traffic and reception by young people. Other innovative approaches includes:

It created an all in one interactive platform where everyone could share vacancies that they came across. Hiring managers could have a conversation with young job seekers, and young professionals could provide mentorship / advice to graduates. This stimulated an imagination to sustainable future where young people could see themselves occupying spaces and living their best lives because they would not always be unemployed.

The Virtual Job Market: Our online platform has facilitated access to customized information about jobs and employment opportunities. More young people now rely on social media to find their next job.

Up-skilling through our online platform: Our platform has helped young people bridge the gap between their qualifications and job market demands. It also provides opportunities for acquiring the required skills for different positions without the limitation of location and commuting to physical classrooms

Provision of Job vacancies 

Young people cannot afford money to travel to notice boards, let alone buy newspapers to access available job vacancies. My platform provides an online easy to access cheaper intevension. 

Mentorship and Mental Sanity

Young people who access our platform get mentors who assist them through the employment journey, they also provide job shadowing as well as piece jobs to them. This gives young job seekers hope as well as money to assist with basic needs. 

Volunteering Opportunities 

Because as an organization we believe we all have a role in building our communities we have a pool of volunteers who always usher their help and at the same time acquiring a skill for survival.