Nadine Farao, Stakeholder Relations Manager at the MiDO Foundation (far right), joins some of the YES graduates in celebrating their success.

The local non-governmental organisation, the MiDO Foundation, and Entersekt, a global fintech company based in Stellenbosch, have once again combined their efforts to help another 10 young, unemployed adults soar with the opportunity to complete a 12-month mentorship and information, communications and technology industry-based paid internship through the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme.

YES beneficiaries obtain digital skills and digital citizenship skills through the foundation’s Digital Citizenship Programme. Some of the soft skills they acquire through digital citizenship skills training include communication skills, access, digital literacy, etiquette, and rights and responsibilities.

One of those youth to complete the programme and obtain immediate employment is Kaylan Gideons who lives in The Ridge in Idas Valley, Stellenbosch, and started working as a receptionist at the law firm Smiths and Associates in Stellenbosch.

“I started studying Human Resources at CTU Stellenbosch two years ago and after completing the course, I started looking for work, but everywhere I applied, I was told that I did not have the necessary work experience to be considered for the job. I had only completed two weeks of practical training in human resources during my studies,” explains Gideons.

While looking for work, Gideons met Michelle Swartland, Senior Project Administrator at the MiDO Foundation, who encouraged her to apply for the upcoming YES programme. Gideons applied and was accepted into the programme. During the 12 months, she worked as a receptionist at Acu-Temp where she was responsible for taking calls, dealing with queries, issuing quotes and invoices, and ensuring that administrative systems were put in place at the small business.

“I was really excited about working at Acu-Temp and it was a huge learning opportunity for me. I got so much experience while working here and was able to put the knowledge I acquired while completing the YES programme to use, and for the first time use some of the skills I learnt through my course at CTU at Acu-Temp.”

“It helped me to also create a good filing system for the business.”

Acu-Temp specialises in providing temperature-controlled monitoring instruments from local and overseas suppliers and performs calibration, repairs, and support services in the cold chain industry.

According to Nadine Farao, Stakeholder Relations Manager at the MiDO Foundation, the foundation believes in not only empowering unemployed youth through the YES programme, but small businesses as well.

“Interventions should not only be focused on one aspect of a challenge, in this case youth unemployment, but rather, where possible, respond to various challenges in our society. This is a philosophy that we believe in, as strongly as we believe in forming partnerships with various organisations.”

To this end, the foundation has not only worked with Entersekt, but organisations like the Stellenbosch Network and the Ranyaka as well as the CoCreate Hub in Stellenbosch.

“We want to ensure that SMMEs in need of employees with digital skills and other soft skills needed for administrative and financial tasks can also benefit from the foundation and Entersekt’s collaboration, and the YES programme. We are therefore increasing employment while capacitating SMMEs that are considered the engines of our economy due to the sector’s potential to create jobs.”

Gideons explains that when she first started working at Acu-Temp, she “made lots of notes on how to improve some processes”, handled the company’s payroll, and accounts.

“It was hard work, because I had to manage it all, but I was able to cope because I would plan my tasks for the day each day,” said Gideons.

She also learnt a lot about good time management and organisation skills at Acu-Temp and the Director of the company, Garnet Christians, she said, allowed her to also participate in business management training offered at the CoCreate Hub in Stellenbosch, where the business’ office is based.

“This programme and the internship at Acu-Temp meant so much to me because there was a time in my life when I thought I would never get work. I had a diploma, but no work experience, so when I heard about the MiDO Foundation and this programme, I felt that there were people who would help me. I had a lot of hope, but it was the foundation that opened many doors for me.”

According to Gideons, the programme helped her to improve her confidence as a person, but also in the workplace. When she went for her interview at Smith and Associates, she felt a lot calmer and was well-prepared for the questions she was asked.

The interview panel was so impressed with Gideons, that when she finished her interview, they asked her how soon she could begin.

The YES programme was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 to address the youth unemployment crisis in South Africa. The programme offers unemployed youth a 12-month work placement, which equips them with a toolkit of skills that may assist them in future employment opportunities, as well as becoming role models in their communities.

“This is our third group of YES graduates to have been sponsored and mentored by Entersekt and trained by the MiDO Foundation since 2020. We are super excited that five of the third group of graduates are now in permanent employment,” said Farao.

Of the 10 graduates who have completed the YES programme since 2020, five have found permanent employment during and straight after they completed the programme.

“The unemployment rate in South Africa is frighteningly high, with 46.5% of the youth between the ages of 15 to 34 without work. For many, a lack of digital skills further hinders their ability to compete with other job seekers for a limited number of jobs,” says Farao.

“The world we live in today require all of us to have digital skills. Just using our phone app to do our banking requires some digital literacy skills, and in the workplace, employers are not only looking for applicants with digital skills knowledge at more senior levels, but also at entry-level. Even a till operator needs to have digital skills to know how to void items or do exchanges.”

Adds Sheldon Bergstedt, Operations Manager at the foundation: “In the time of the 3rd industrial revolution, which is also referred to as the Digital Revolution, electronics and information technology came to play a big role in the workplace and society and led to the automation of production. As we find ourselves in the 4th industrial revolution, the use and application of digital skills and knowledge of digital citizenship are essential to ensuring that individuals can function in this new era and are not left behind. Our mission at the foundation is rooted in the upliftment of the youth and the rectification of previous injustices.”

“We believe that upskilling our unemployed youth is important not only to improve the employability of South Africans, but because we cannot afford the economic impact that a continued increase in youth unemployment will have on South Africa, the devastating impact of unemployment on an individual’s mental health and self-esteem, and worsening poverty, and crime,” says Farao.

Dario Minnaar, Customer Relationship Technician, at MiDO Technologies started off the YES 3 program in August 2021 where he worked as an IT Technical Support Intern at MiDO Foundation. Minnaar has obtained 2 National qualifications and 1 International qualification at CTU Training Solutions Stellenbosch.

“The 2 National Qualifications are IT Technical Support and IT Cloud Administrator MCSA and the International qualification is Comptia A+ 220-1001 and 1002,” says Minnaar.

“I can’t thank Entersekt and MiDO Foundation enough for the opportunity because I could get to learn at the Technological level. I had the opportunity to work in a technological environment and to be able to gain practical experience in the time of Covid.”

Minnaar’s skills were so impressive that he was appointed as a full-time Customer Relationship Technician at MiDO Technologies 3 months before his internship ended which created an opportunity for another eager individual, Shanice Theunissen to take his place and finish the remaining period of the YES programme.

“The programme was so helpful, and I am happy I get to remain at the school I teach at. I’ve learned many new skills in communication and planning. If it wasn’t for the program, I don’t know where I would be today”, says Amber Olivier, who completed the programme with Gideons and currently works as a teacher at Dig-It Junior in Jamestown.

“Working with babies between the ages of 6 and 18 months require much planning, communication and focus – all the skills that the YES programme offered,” said Olivier.

“I couldn’t be prouder to have been a part of such an enriching experience, where young people get the opportunity to enhance their practical skills.”

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The YES programme was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 to address the youth unemployment crisis in South Africa. The programme offers unemployed youth a 12-month work placement, which equips them with a toolkit of skills that may assist them in future employment opportunities, as well as becoming role models in their communities. According
to recent statistics from Statistics South Africa, the unemployment rate for youth
aged 15-34 years is 46.3%. Much of this increase is due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and the rest of the world. However, since 2018, more than 1 571 corporations have signed up for the YES programme with more than 58 760 work experiences created for black youth between the ages of 18 and 35 with no government funding.

The MiDO Foundation is the philanthropic arm of MiDO Technologies, a business that provides innovative and tailored digital solutions to corporations, small and medium enterprises, and schools. Since 2017, the MiDO Technologies team have filtered their expertise and knowledge in information and communication technology (ICT) into the foundation’s Digital Citizenship Programme. The programme focuses on empowering unemployed youth to take control of their future by equipping them with digital skills and soft skills focused on digital communication, access, literacy, etiquette, and rights and responsibilities. The Digital Citizenship Programme provides youth, especially unskilled youth, from lower-income communities with opportunities to apply for internships to develop technical skills required in the ICT sector through a mentorship and industry-based 12-month paid internship each year. In 2020, the foundation teamed with Entersekt, a global fintech company, through the YES programme to extend the impact of its programme.

The MiDO Foundation currently has seven Digital Hubs at various schools across the Western Cape. The hubs are used to develop the digital and IT skills of learners under the supervision of a Digital Hub Coordinator. Entersekt and MiDO have been working together since 2017 when Entersekt first invested in a number of corporate social investment initiatives that would benefit youth and learners from disadvantaged backgrounds in the greater Jamestown area in Stellenbosch and beyond.  These joint initiatives included establishing a digital hub at Stellenzicht Secondary School in Jamestown and equipping the hub with digital devices, furniture and a coffee machine. The school’s Digital Hub Coordinator’s monthly salary is also sponsored by Entersekt.

“Our business was founded on the idea of providing innovative digital solutions to various organisations so that South African society was ready for the fourth industrial revolution when it arrived. We all believed that we were a long way off from entering the fourth industrial revolution, but the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated that process and we now find ourselves in the midst of that revolution. Digital skills are no longer a nice-to-have, it is essential for learners, students and workers to succeed at school, at university or in the workplace. Without it, many citizens will be left behind and will not easily find employment in future,” says Dale Simons, Founder and Managing Director of MiDO Technologies.

“Additionally, youth from disadvantaged communities often do not acquire digital skills for a number of reasons. This ranges from not having access to electronic devices and WIFI, the high cost of data in South Africa, poor quality internet connection in some areas, a lack of digital skills, and no opportunities to acquire digital skills either.”

“By getting involved in the YES programme and joining hands with Entersekt, we saw an opportunity to speed up the process of getting our youth ready for this new world. And we are so thankful we did, because we are now seeing the tangible and immediate impact that collaboration has made. Five of the 18 youth who completed the YES programme found jobs, which proves that the digital skills that our YES youth have acquired have already made them more employable,” adds Simons.

Entersekt also facilitated orientation programmes for the youth to reinforce the importance of a good work ethic, says Arno Kemp, Senior HR Business Partner responsible for transformation and growth at Entersekt.

“We want to ensure that the youth’s introduction to the world of work is also a journey of support.”

“Working with MIDO helps us to make a difference in South African communities but also in the global workforce. We’ve been privileged to see many youth grow into confident men and women who are assured of the value they add to the economy. These youth are now equipped with key skills which can be used across the world,” says Kemp.

Throughout the 12 months, the youths’ monthly salary was paid by Entersekt, while the foundation  was responsible for ensuring that they acquire various digital skills and are able to apply those skills effectively. The 18 YES youth were placed at the Foundation’s Digital Hubs and other locations.

“We know that SMEs are crucial drivers of job creation, and through the B-BBEE level up benefit, they can become more competitive and in turn create more jobs as they grow. This first salary for a youth has far-reaching socio-economic impacts. About 88.4% of YES Youth come from social grant recipient households and 90.7% have dependants, so the monthly salary benefits more than just the individual youth, it permeates through families and even communities,” says Leanne Emery, Acting Co-CEO at YES.

A strong collaboration between the YES programme, corporate companies and small businesses have the ability to make a significant impact on youth unemployment statistics in South Africa.

“Our partnerships with business, both big and small, are not only essential to the success of the YES programme, but to the broader fight against youth unemployment, serving to co-create a more inclusive economy. These entities, through the YES platform, have injected R3.3 billion back into the economy directly through the payment of youth salaries and they do this without government assistance,” adds Emery.

YES programme graduate Chanay Jaftha started working as a teacher at Dig It Junior creche in Jamestown recently. Jaftha obtained a National Diploma in Educare from Boland College and was unemployed when she decided to apply for the YES programme.

“The YES programme allowed me to work in the field I had studied in and it was a great opportunity to also start my career,” says Jaftha.

She says she has not only learnt digital skills but other soft skills too.

“I’ve learnt to control my feelings better, especially when things are not going as planned. You just have to find a way to see pass the obstacle.”

Another YES programme graduate, Athene-Leigh Klink now works as a Hub Coordinator at Rusthof High, where she is responsible for managing the hub and various programmes.

“I signed up for the YES programme because it was a great opportunity and I was at home because I was taking a gap year. I was just sitting at home doing nothing,” she says.

“The programme actually helped me very much with my future career choice. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to become a teacher, but in the past few months, I realised it’s actually what I want to do because it’s not just about coming to work and teaching, it’s also about getting to know the learners and how each of them has a different style of doing their work. Some of them don’t have it easy, and most of them need the motivation to keep going.”

Adds Klink: “I never thought I would be able to stand in front of a class and speak to learners or communicate with a teacher the way I do now. Doing this programme helped me to become more confident and increased my passion for teaching.”

PHOTO 1: A collaboration between the MiDO Foundation and Entersekt, has led to five of the 18 youth to participate in the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme securing jobs. Amongst them are Chanay Jaftha (left), and Tamryn Samuels, who work at Dig It creche as a teacher and teaching assistant respectively. (Refiloe Raphasha)

PHOTO 2: Tamryn Samuels (left), and Chanay Jaftha, who work at Dig It creche as a teaching assistant and a teacher are busy helping learners in class. (Refiloe Raphasha)

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The MiDO Foundation’s purpose is to empower youth to take control of their future by equipping them with digital skills such as digital communication, access, literacy, etiquette, and rights and responsibilities through its Digital Citizenship Programme. The programme provides youth from lower-income communities with opportunities to develop technical skills required in the ICT sector through a mentorship and the internship.

In 2017 MiDO partnered with global fintech company Entersekt to make an impact on an even bigger scale through the YES programme. Entersekt and MiDO have been working together since June 2017 when Entersekt first invested in a number of corporate social investment initiatives that would benefit youth and learners from disadvantaged backgrounds in the greater Jamestown area and beyond.

The MiDO Foundation’s work focuses on forming partnerships and collaborations with various stakeholders to achieve the shared goal of changing lives through technology. MiDO’s collaborative effort with Entersekt through the YES programme has improved the employability of YES interns in many fields – especially since digital skills and literacy are vital job requirements in the fourth industrial revolution.

One of the YES interns that have secured employment during his internship is Keith Adams. Midway through his time at MiDO, Kyle was appointed as a Senior Technical Client Support Agent at a company focusing on mobile technology solutions for the medical and education sectors.

Adams, who is from Stellenbosch, was unemployed with minimal skills when he joined the programme. We sat down with him to speak about his experience at MiDO and how it led him to a permanent job.

Did the YES internship  experience at MiDO help you to find permanent employment?

My experience as a YES intern at MiDO’s digital hub helped me secure permanent employment because the technological skills required by my current job aligned with what I learnt at MiDO. At MiDO and at my current job, I have learnt how to enrich lives through education with technology. The MiDO Foundation gave me the opportunity to digitally express myself while learning new digital skills.

What job related skills did you have after participating in the YES internship? 

I had prior work experience in other sectors, but MiDO taught me valuable computer skills that have complemented my other skill sets significantly. One of the skills I learnt at MiDO that has been particularly valuable in my current career is learning how to work with Google Suite and utilising  Google services as an educational tool. In my current job we use Google in our daily tasks.

What was your overall experience while working at MiDO?

My experience at MiDO was absolutely fabulous. The organisation allowed me to bring new ideas to the table, which made me feel valued as an intern. I received incredible support throughout my journey at MiDO and am forever thankful for the opportunity to learn and gain valuable skills. The MiDO Foundation has also taught me to embrace the learning process as it brings personal growth, which adds value to my career.

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Additionally, learners are being taught digital skills that will help them to excel at higher education institutions and in the South African workplace.

“There was absolutely nothing here when we started out,” says Marjorie Myburgh, Acting Principal of the school. “However, thanks to funding from the Rupert Education Foundation, MiDO Technologies was able to meet with staff at the school to discuss our improvement plans in 2015 and how we could turn Franschhoek High into a smart school.”

According to Myburgh, five teachers, including herself as Deputy Principal at the time, were provided with tablets and underwent Google Classroom training. In the same year, MiDO Technologies provided 80 tablets to the combined school – 40 went to the school’s primary school section and 40 to the high school.

Three years later, the hub, which has been dubbed the Fransies Hub, was established by MiDO. A venue was identified in the school and transformed into a learning space that houses various technology to facilitate learning.

“Abigail Fortuin, another Hub Coordinator from MiDO who is now employed as our Assistant Administrator, ensured that all our learners obtained Gmail e-mail addresses to be able to use Google Classroom when we went into lockdown,” says Myburgh.

“She also moved our register onto Google Classroom, which allowed us to get rid of the paper registers we used before and now we do it all online.”

However, while the technology was there for students to start learning online, the quality of the wifi connection at the school needed to be improved. Again MiDO stepped in with the support of Remgro’s Stellenbosch Schools Broadbased Internet and implemented a more reliable wifi connection.

In the primary school grades, learners now use the online Reading Eggs and Green Shoots math platforms regularly for online learning. They also use FutureKids, a programme also funded by the Rupert Education Foundation, which provides teachers and learners access to the digital CAPS curriculum covering all subjects from Grade 1 to 7, and promotes e-teaching and e-learning at schools. High school learners use the digital hub to learn digital skills including robotics, coding, graphic design, digital video production, and photography from industry experts and are also trained in the effective use of Google Apps.

In 2020, with school lockdowns, the partnership between MiDO and the school came into full effect.

“We immediately took our hubs online and used our hub coordinators to ensure that learners were signed up on Google Classroom and had data to work online,” explains Daniel Solomons, the Executive Director of the MiDO Foundation.

Learners were also equipped to deal with the emotional toll of the lockdowns, school closures and social distancing, and share their personal experiences, while motivational sessions were presented to keep learners motivated.

“We introduced an exam preparation programme in partnership with Utility Consulting Solutions for Grade 12s, with 1 400 learners registering on Schoology, a learning management system, to participate in the programme. Learners were able to download content on their phones, previous exam papers to work through the content provided, do self-assessments as well as online assessments. That gave them a very good indication of their competency levels per subject but also their readiness for the final exam,” says Solomons.

Teachers were also taught how to use Zoom to teach online.

Franschhoek High Grade 12 learners, Tamson Bailey and Lauren Boonzaaier, say the support they received from MiDO during the lockdown was very helpful for their academics and ensured they were ready for their matric year.

“Covid-19 really affected my studies. Before the lockdown, I did not have access to any wifi at home, and most of my work needed to be completed via a computer. It was really hard convincing my parents that I constantly needed money for data in order to submit my school tasks, but fortunately, during the lockdown, MiDO disbursed monthly data to all the learners including myself,” says Bailey.

Bailey believes that the skills she has learnt at the hub will also help her next year when she pursues a degree in Social Work.

“The hub has taught me how to present and hand in my school projects using a computer, which was something that was foreign to me before. One thing that I also realised is that the skills we are being taught help us in our personal lives as well, because we are always using our phones and the internet to communicate daily.”

Boonzaaier says that the pandemic and lockdowns have had a toll on her academics as well. Online learning was something that she had to get used to very quickly even though she was uncomfortable with it.

“All of my school life I only knew the kind of teaching where my teacher would stand in front of me whilst teaching and all of a sudden I had to adapt to only seeing them on my computer screen, which took a lot of getting used to.”

“Before I joined the hub I was not computer literate. I knew how to operate the computer, but now I know how to use certain digital applications like Zoom. I was also taught how to use Google Docs and how to load my school work online, which will help me in university next year,” Boonzaaier adds.

She believes that the hubs that MiDO develops to upskill learners and teachers at poorly resourced schools are extremely important, especially for schools without the necessary digital resources at their disposal to do so.

“I wish that every high school learner could leave high school technologically equipped and ready for university,” says Boonzaaier.

Learners like Bailey and Boonzaaier are now back at school but are still following a platoon attendance style. MiDO worked with staff and the school’s new hub coordinator, Maurice Fritz, to implement strict Covid-19 safety protocols in the hub in anticipation of the school reopening. Fritz completed MiDO’s Digital Citizenship Programme, which provides youth from lower-income communities with internships to develop technical skills required in the ICT sector through a mentorship and industry-based 12-month paid internship.

“It was a struggle moving from in-person to online education as we also had to teach teachers and learners how to use online video platforms like Zoom properly. It was a huge jump, but also a good jump for the school to get closer to becoming a proper smart school,” says Fritz.

Fritz also helped Grade 10 to 12 learners to get used to the Google Classroom platform.

Myburgh says that the hub and the support from the hub coordinator made a big difference in bringing Grade 12 learners up to speed.

“They could use the hubs to continue with e-learning while Maurice worked through the breaks to support the learners.”

Priscilla Booysen, responsible for educational development projects and programmes funded by various foundations in the Rupert Family, explains that the Trust has funded a range of interventions at the six public schools in the Franschhoek valley over the last nine years. One of those interventions was to  provide computer skills training and teaching support to teachers. In the last three years, and in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, they have funded digital skills training for teachers and learners, using organisations like MiDO with the existing expertise to implement their objectives.

“Through the hub at Franschhoek High, we are training teachers to regularly make use of technology in the classroom when teaching and providing learners with a space where they are not only acquiring digital skills, but learning how to use those skills responsibly and effectively to empower themselves. Learners are not only using these skills for online learning, but matric learners have the competency now to also search for and apply for study or job opportunities online,” says Booysen.

Adds Myburgh: “We are really thankful to the Rupert Foundation and MiDO, who have worked with us to help us move closer to becoming a fully-fledged smart school. I also could not have done this without the support of my entire teaching staff.”

“Children today are growing up with technology around them and using it every day. Schools and teachers, therefore, need to be ready to adapt and to use the digital learning tools available to them to help our learners acquire the digital skills they need now. This is the new world that our learners are growing up in, so if we want to create smart schools where e-learning and e-teaching is practiced, we have to keep up with the times.”

Main photo: Ms Marjorie Myburgh (middle), Acting Principal at Franschhoek High, chats to Grade 12 learners, Lauren Boonzaaier (left) and Tamson Bailey, in the digital hub set up by MiDO Technologies with funding from the Rupert Education Foundation . (Lynne Rippenaar-Moses)

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The MiDO Foundation is a non-profit company that falls under MiDO Technologies, a company focused on providing digital literacy solutions in schools, the workplace and for entrepreneurs.

“I studied Computer Technology Application at Lückhoff High School and really enjoyed it,” explains Nadine.

“I already knew in Grade 1 that I wanted to be a teacher because I love working with children. It’s why I enjoy working at the hub because I get to work with young people.”

“I actually did not think I would be using computers again, even as a teacher. But nowadays teachers have to know how to use (electronic) White Boards and that means you have to know how to use computers when you are teaching.”

Nadine February, the Hub Coordinator at Stelliez Hub at Stellenzicht Secondary School, assists a learner in the MiDO Foundation’s Digital Hub at the school. (Photo: Lynne Rippenaar-Moses)

Today Nadine works at the Stelliez Hub at Stellenzicht Secondary School where she started her internship in 2019. While Nadine studied Computer Technology Application at school, she learnt a lot more through the MiDO internship.

“I did not know how to use all the different functionalities of platforms like Google. It’s no wonder then that learners who have never used computers do not even know how to switch on the device,” says Nadine.

“Today we still find that there are some learners in Grade 12 who are
unable to switch on a computer or do something basic like change the font in a Word document. It is sad to see this as it makes me realise that these learners are not ready to function in a world with technology and will definitely not be able to adjust to university easily.”

“Of course there are also the learners who are able to work out how to use different technology functions on their own,” says Nadine and smiles.

According to Nadine, this is her first job, which means she is as much on a learning expedition as the learners she assists. “I’m a very shy person, but I learnt to speak up more often at MiDO. The staff made me realise that if I did not learn to communicate more easily, I would not advance. A lot of the work we do is also very interactive, so you learn to become more self-assured.”

Nadine hopes to see many others get the opportunity she was given at the MiDO Foundation.

“I would encourage funders to continue funding the programmes offered by the MiDO Foundation, because it makes a huge difference in the lives of unemployed youth and in improving the digital skills of learners. These skills are very important in the workplace where it’s important to know how to use technology to do your job well.”

Nadine is also working on expanding her skill set. She enrolled for a teaching degree at Unisa in 2019, with the hopes of one day fulfilling her dream to become a teacher.

“I want to use my teaching skills along with the digital skills I have to empower the youth that will pass through my hands in future.”

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By the time she finished matric, Lindiwe was pregnant with her now five-year old son, Sinelizwi. With a small baby to take care of, she started working at Bossa Social Café in Somerset West and completed a basic computer course at the NGO, Silulo Ulutho Technologies. Soon after completing the course, she clinched a contract at the Western Cape Education Department where she worked as an e-Learning teacher’s assistant and helped primary school learners with the basics of how to use a computer.

In 2019, Lindiwe joined the MiDO Foundation as a Digital Hub Coordinator at Simanyene Secondary School in Strand where she still works today.

“Working as a coordinator for the MiDO Foundation is very different from what I was doing as an e-Learning assistant. When I joined MiDO, I didn’t know that I was going to teach graphic design and photography skills to the learners. With the skills I had before, I knew how to use a computer when I needed it, but it was not as advanced as what I have learnt at MiDO,” says Lindiwe.

At the hubs she can clearly see the hunger that the learners have to learn more digital skills. “Whenever I teach them something new they want to know more.”

Growing up in a disadvantaged community and with her knowledge of digital skills, Lindiwe is aware of the impact that digitally illiteracy will have on the job prospects of youth who have no or basic computer skills.

“There are learners in our community who are in high school and who know nothing about technology. They know how to use their phones, but when we work on computers, we have to start from scratch and show them how to switch on a computer, how to log in, how to use Google to find information, and how to use the different programmes on the computer.”

“What we are doing at MiDO is important, because I can see how it has changed our lives and the lives of learners who had no digital skills before. We are making it easier for the next generation, especially in the townships, to learn skills they will need to find work and to get into and finish university,” she adds.

Participating in the programme and working as a hub coordinator has also changed Lindiwe’s life.

“I am able to speak in front of people, something I did not care to do before. I also know how to teach learners new skills and motivate them. I am definitely not shy anymore and I am teaching the learners how to become confident too.”

As a single mom, she is mostly happy that she can now buy all the things that young Sinelizwi needs.

Photo: Lindiwe Thandabantu works as Digital Hub Coordinator at one of the MiDO Foundation’s Digital Hubs at Simanyene Secondary School in Strand.

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It’s statistics like these that drives the MiDO Foundation’s resolve to bring hope to unemployed youth by equipping them with digital skills to make them employable. Now they’ve partnered with the global fintech company, Entersekt, to make an impact on an even bigger scale through the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme.

“Our purpose at MiDO is to equip disadvantaged youth with essential digital skills required to find employment today while also helping them find their passion and purpose by creating spaces and opportunities for them to thrive. We create these spaces through the Digital Technology Hubs that we have built at schools across the Western Cape. Now, our collaboration with Entersekt creates opportunities for us to employ interns and place them in Hubs as assistant Hub Coordinators through the YES programme. This partnership will allow us to empower many young people who are facing difficulties in finding employment,” says Dale Simons, Founder and Managing Director of MiDO Technologies.

MiDO has been upskilling unemployed youth since 2017 and started the Digital Citizenship Programme in 2020. The programme provides youth from lower-income communities with opportunities to apply for internships todevelop technical skills required in the ICT sector through a mentorship and industry-based 12-month paid internship each year.

According to Arno Kemp, Senior HRBP: Transformation and Growth at Entersekt, it made sense for the global fintech company to expand its partnership with the MiDO Foundation by including the business in their participation in the YES programme.

“The YES programme is a 12-month quality work experience programme that equips unemployed youth from disadvantaged backgrounds with a toolkit to be a beacon of hope for their families, households and communities. At the end of their internship, they have a CV and reference letter which will give them a three times greater chance of an interview call-back,” says Kemp.

To date, 18 interns have been placed at MiDO’s hubs and other locations. Entersekt has also facilitated orientation programmes for the interns to reinforce the importance of a good work ethic and to ensure, says Kemp, “that the interns’ introduction to the world of work is also a journey of support”.

Government and corporate partnerships like the YES programme, says Simons, are essential in helping to combat youth unemployment and to the country’s long-term economic development.

“We share the same drive for creating value and making a difference in the lives of youth who do not have access to this sort of education or opportunities for employment in a country where overall unemployment has now breached 30%,” adds Kemp.

“We believe that MiDO has the leadership and infrastructure in place to enable a long-term partnership of mutual growth, where we can add measurable value to the community.”

Entersekt and MiDO have been working together since June 2017 when Entersekt first invested in a number of corporate social investment initiatives that would benefit youth and learners from disadvantaged backgrounds in the greater Jamestown area and beyond.

These joint initiatives included establishing a digital hub at Stellenzicht Secondary School and making available further funding for the implementation of digital literacy programmes in the hub. Learners are able to visit the hub to develop their digital and IT skills under the supervision of a Digital Hub Coordinator, whose monthly stipend is sponsored by Entersekt. The digital hub is fitted with wireless internet access and devices to give young people the best opportunity to have access to equipment and information.

MiDO’s involvement with the YES programme has already made an impact on some of the participating youth who were unable to find employment due to a lack of work experience.      Courtney Slade, a YES Programme intern at MiDO, previously struggled to find employment because she lacked work experience. “No one wants to hire someone without experience, so the internship gives me the opportunity to put something on my CV,” says Slade. “The programme also builds our confidence, our knowledge and gives us the skills we need to get a job after the internship.”

By developing the youth, MiDO has helped many young people find their sense of purpose.

Athene Klink, who resides in Strand, is another YES intern based at MiDO. Initially she wanted to study hospitality, but was unable to do so due to financial circumstances. While working at MiDO, she discovered a passion for education.

“I have always wanted to become a teacher but wasn’t comfortable speaking in front of others. This programme has given me more confidence. I would like to pursue a career in education after this.”

Simons hopes to see more businesses, in particular in Stellenbosch, get involved with the YES programme and partner with smaller businesses to provide the youth with work experience.

“Let’s give our youth, who have no or limited access to opportunities to improve their digital skills, a solid chance to gain those skills to enter employment and make a contribution to building the economy of our country. Let’s give them the best opportunity to create a prosperous future for themselves and their communities.”

Main photo: Here are some of our YES interns with Daniel Solomons (back, far left), Executive Director of MiDO Foundation, and Arno Kemp (back, far right), Senior HRBP: Transformation and Growth at Entersekt.

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Today, thanks to that internship, she is employed as an Assistant Administrator at Franschhoek High School in Franschhoek. “A friend told me about the training that MiDO offered to young persons to become hub coordinators at the schools where they had digital hubs,” says Abigail. She applied for the internship, was selected and soon after started MiDO’s Google Workspace training. “I learnt how to use my e-mail account effectively, how to use Google Docs, and even how to create a website for the school at which I now work. I also did robotics as part of my training, which allowed me to later teach kids at our school about robotics too.”

Once she had completed her training, Abigail was placed at Franschhoek High, which houses one of MiDO’s Digital Technology Hubs. “Initially, I found it very stressful to work with the learners as I had never worked in a school environment. There were also some behavioural challenges amongst learners which I had to learn to deal with and later address, however, it taught me to also find creative ways to teach the learners and to use a reward system to encourage behaviour change. By June, I had become completely comfortable working with the learners, and they started to also engage with me more,” says Abigail of her first few months in a teaching environment.Her face lights up as she talks about the Google Workspace, drone and sound engineering training she did with the learners.

“The internship helped me improve my people’s skills as I was a very shy person before. Today I work with people more often than not, and I have also learnt how to work within teams where people have different personalities. All the training I received on how to use a computer and the software on it effectively, has helped me work faster and improve my time management skills as well.” In February 2021, Abigail’s hard work, dedication and innovation paid off when she was appointed as an Assistant Administrator at Franschhoek High. “Last year, I was responsible for creating online portfolios for the kids and moved everything we had on a paper filing system online. The problem with storing documents, is that you struggle to find information easily and need to find places to store those documents each year.”

“I showed the teachers how we could create a folder for each learner and how they could all update the information in one folder which all the teachers could access. This year, we have started working with that online filing system,” says Abigail. After witnessing the challenges that teachers faced in 2020 because of the pandemic, Abigail wants to focus on how she can make 2021 “easier for each and every teacher by helping them find ways to do their work effectively”. “Thanks to my digital and technology skills, I have also been asked to work closely with the D6 team to find out how our school can use their platform to communicate with parents. We are also moving all school tasks online for the learners so that we can share links to the work they need to do via WhatsApp, which many learners and their parents have easier access to.” Looking back on her journey over the last two years, Abigail says: “I am extremely grateful to MiDO. Their internship has made it possible for me to find work and had it not been for MiDO’s training and support, I would not be where I am now, working as an Assistant Administrator at Franschhoek High School.”

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