Youth Day has evolved into a chance to address the issues that today’s South African youth face. The public holiday is being used by a variety of youth advocacy groups and government programs to draw attention to the poor education and job chances that have become a reality for many young people. Awareness campaigns, public debate forums, and historical education events have all become popular approaches to improve the lives of South African teenagers and ensure that they continue to play an important role in the country’s future.
We’ve chatted to some of our youngest employees to get their viewpoint on this year’s theme: The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Growing youth employment for an inclusive and transformed society.
- What are your career goals?
Obed: My goal is to level up in my career because part of being a successful product manager involves managing your own career. I will accomplish this by maximising any senior position I fill in order to refine my skills. This will require me to stay on top of the industry shifts and competitor activity, and become a master of backlog refinement. Levelling up will require me to understand the link between product development and the company’s financial development so that I can bring clarity to an under-developed area of the product and I work with and shine light on those under-developed areas of the application.
Tumelo: I really want to be a proactive, valuable and engaged team member. Earn more experience and knowledge and improve communication and public speaking skills.
Andronica: Getting an abroad experience in accounts and growing my business.
Brittany: One day I want to be a manager. Being a manager is one of my goals especially in the marketing field. I know I’m a good leader so being able to put that into practice is one of my top career goals.
- What is your proudest career accomplishment?
Obed: Becoming the Product Manager for Gaming and IT
Tumelo: Exceeding my set target and becoming employee of the month also scooped myself some few rands into my account.
Andronica: I will be finishing my senior bookkeeping course at the beginning of next year.
Brittany: Landing a job at a corporate company who offers so much more than just a salary each month. I am very grateful to be working at Expert who allows me room to grow and accomplish great things. Recently I spoke at an international conference which was a big deal to me!
- What do you think people in leadership positions—many of whom are from an older generation—need to know about the youth (our future leaders?)
Obed: What people in leadership positions particularly those from an older generation must know about is that youth bring enthusiasm and optimism to their work, they understand the next generation trends, they learn fast and are passionate about the mission and most importantly is that youth are succession plans for their older generation.
Tumelo: The thing about youth or future leaders is they just want to be out there and speak highly so that their voices can be heard, most of them are goal driven and energetic. I think it is not easy for people in leadership roles to see that from future leaders because they sometimes don’t take their words into consideration. Another thing that elders need to understand is that we are now exposed to too much technology and mostly youth get to understand it way better than they do.
Andronica: Many people in leadership positions, especially from the older generation, need to know that youth or future leaders embrace change and exhibit great skills at marketing their new ideas. They also have the courage to make new ideas. They have courage to make difficult changes, possibly because their lack of experience causes them to be more optimistic about their proposal for change. They know how to get others energised and excited about accomplishing objectives. They are constantly looking for innovative ways to accomplish work more efficiently and with higher quality.
Brittany: The youth is the driving force behind innovation and change, we grew up in a different time which allows us to view the world differently to previous generations. People in leadership positions should allow the youth to put their ideas into practice, as they target people differently.
- What challenges do young people face related to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion—and how do you think they youth should address these challenges?
Obed: The youth of South Africa face countless issues in their daily lives. Issues such as unequal opportunities in education and experience of employment, discrimination, language barriers. The pre-eminent way of addressing the above-mentioned is to initiate a platform whereby complaints or concerns can be reported, create a culture of trust, mutual respect, and open communication. By making inclusion a priority and providing diversity training.
Tumelo: The challenge the youth face is that they sometimes fail to take part in meetings because sometimes they feel belittled when trying to make a point, and equity is where you find a young person doing the very same job as an elderly but the salary differs. Most of the time youth feel more comfortable with their peers because that’s where they feel what they put on the table is taken into consideration. These challenges can be addressed by building an inclusive company culture and involving the entire team in all activities, and paying attention to pay equity.
Andronica: As a young person it can be intimidating to speak up in a group of adults, especially since young people are often outnumbered in meetings, once they are at the table, it is important to create an environment of respect that allows their voice to be heard. Most people treat and take youth as they are wet in their ears, which causes a bearer for youth to get opportunities and resources that will build their future. I think these challenges should be addressed by including these issues in national policies and in development cooperation activities.
Brittany: Experience, experience, experience… One of the main downfalls of youth in the country is that almost everything requires experience, but the youth has something that experience cannot teach. The youth of today is not like the youth of yesterday, we are outgoing, passionate and really entrenched in the idea of a better society for all. When the current youth enters the business world, there will be a difference in every aspect.
- What advice do you have for younger generations entering the business world?
Obed: The advice I would give the youth entering the business world is that they should fail forward.
Tumelo: Firstly, have a business plan and also know your target market. Lastly, be passionate about what you do.
Andronica: In the business world everyone is paid in two coins cash and experience. Take the experience to equip yourself and use cash wisely.
Brittany: Be strong and be brave, you are here for a reason!
- Does Expert provide you with opportunities to grow and reach your personal goals?
Obed: Yes it does, as I was given an opportunity to do a Product Management short course.
Tumelo: It does its best to offer the opportunities because of the training sessions they hold to help in enhancing what we already have and tackling the issues we have in hand.
Andronica: Expert provides us with opportunities to grow academically. However, when it comes to growth and reaching our personal goals there is a lot of room for improvement. For instance, on completion of my studies the company can relook my current position and put me in a suitable position for what I have studied. This will not only assist me in reaching my goals, but it will assist me in growing the company as well.
Brittany: Definitely, Expert has enabled me to grow and flourish in ways I never thought possible.
