Absa Botswana is eager to capitalise on the country’s pursuit of 4IR technology and source sought-after technical skill sets, and has established an online platform, Youth Hub, dedicated to developing digital skills.

Absa Bank Botswana Managing Director Keabetswe Pheko-Moshagane said the platform is specifically targeted at the youth to help address Botswana’s high unemployment rate.

“We recognise that in Botswana - and as in the rest of our continent, a key challenge is the high level of youth unemployment. We understand that young people face significant challenges in realising their ambitions, many linked to limited opportunities, and lack of skills.”

“As a bank, we recognise that our future lies in the hands of our youth, and we therefore have a role to play in creating an ecosystem that supports youth employability in Botswana.”

The platform has been introduced in collaboration with youth-owned entity, iBranch Recruiters, a company registered with the Botswana Innovation Hub and enrolled under the Hub’s incubation programme.

Services to be provided via the Youth Hub include career services programmes such as CV writing, interviewing skills, email and SMS on job notifications, preparation for aptitude tests, industrial training, and internships.

Meanwhile iBranch Recruiters’ primary objective is to link job seekers to employers with pinpoint accuracy and over 2,000 Batswana to employment acquisition and successfully trained over 300 Batswana through our existing Career Development Program.

Tshepiso Leinane of iBranch Recruiters said, “All these are part of our efforts of transforming ordinary jobseekers into Job Ready and Employable candidates of tomorrow. Our collaboration with Absa Bank Botswana comes at an opportune time as it will help us scale our efforts and make more impact in the lives of Batswana at large.”