How BANKSETA addressed the issue of unemployment in South Africa through an internship program specifically targeting learners with an aptitude for cybersecurity.
What was Impactful hired to do?
- Impactful was hired to provide an end-to-end service for the Internship in Cybersecurity programme, resulting in certification of 500 unemployed youths.
- The aim of the programme was to address critical skills in the banking and alternative banking sector by creating a talent pipeline through the empowerment of the unemployed youth with demand-led skills, making them more attractive to potential employers, and contributing to the betterment of South Africa.
- The programme involved training towards Cybersecurity certification, as well as improving work-readiness and personal branding skills.
Client’s challenges and progress to be made
BANKSETA’s challenge was to address the issue of unemployment in South Africa and the internship was aimed specifically at learners with an aptitude for cybersecurity. The goal was for them to gain a relevant qualification, plus experience in the world of work, thus becoming more employable in the banking sector.
The expectation was for delegates to become productive employees with future-demand-led skills and experience, able to contribute to the future economic success of South Africa. An additional aim was to address the issue of companies seeking talent outside South Africa, by equipping local people with the necessary skills.
Implementation took place during the COVID pandemic, making the work-experience aspect especially challenging.
Impactful's approach
Over the past three years, BANKSETA in partnership with Impactful have worked together on this ground-breaking project.
Training began with 100 delegates in 2019, followed by two intakes in 2021 and 2022 in Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Western Cape. The formal training took four months per intake and covered topics like work-readiness, personal branding, 4IR, cybersecurity, cloud computing, ethical hacking and business analysis.
After training, learners were placed with a host employer for eight months, gaining relevant work experience in a banking environment.
Learner feedback
How was your student journey?
“My experience with BANKSETA and Impactful was great. I will always recall their values and enthusiastic delivery of quality training, developing young individuals into powerful professionals.”
What positive impact has this learnership programme had on your life?
“I’ve learned a lot and I am forever grateful for that. Today I am proud to call myself a Cybersecurity Specialist, employed by SS-Consulting, one of the best cybersecurity companies.”
Client Comments
Why did you choose Impactful for this BANKSETA funded programme
“They have demonstrated the ability and experience to handle a project of this magnitude. And they presented a well-crafted cybersecurity solution.”
“This has had a significant impact on both the financial and non-financial sectors. ICT Security Specialist is a hard-to-fill job due to a shortage of cybersecurity specialists; this programme has created a talent pipeline that will address a critical problem”.
Value delivered to date (results)
BANKSETA, the supporting organisations and Impactful have assisted 500 unemployed individuals to grow personally and have improved their chances of gaining employment… “empowering people through skills development.”
