The Samsung Academy, established in 2011, equips unemployed matriculants from low income areas with the latest global technological skills to assist them to compete effectively in the job market. Samsung’s vision is to fast-track youth into the electronics job market, therefore aligning to the government’s Vision 2030 that encourages entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives.

“We’re on a drive to give the youth of South Africa hope for the future with viable careers in a highly desirable field. Our graduates have all entered the workplace with essential electronic engineering skills, allowing them to support themselves and make a positive impact on their families and communities,” says Hlubi Shivanda, Director of Innovation Group and Corporate Affairs for Samsung South Africa.

Students are taken through an intensive technical training course followed by a month of in-service training. Once this is completed, the young graduates are taught about client service and are then deployed to Samsung Service Centres. By moving one of the six Engineering Academy’s from Boksburg to Midrand, Samsung is able to reach students beyond its initial focus in Ekurhuleni and into greater Johannesburg.

It’s an opportunity of a lifetime. For both the Women Technical Programme and the Boys to Men initiative, there are two intakes every year. Applicants need to have a matric certificate, with mathematics and science on higher grade. There has already been remarkable success with hundreds of students enrolling and graduating every year since inception.

There are six academies that matriculants between the ages of 18 to 25 can apply to. These are: Samsung Academy in Midrand; Refrigeration and Aircon Academy at EEC KwaThema College; Tshwane North College in Hammanskraal; Orbit College in Mogwase; Gerit Sibande College in Standerton; and KwaMashu Coastal College in KwaMashu.

Mr. Sung Yoon, CEO & President Samsung Africa says, “This is another step towards securing the future of the youth marginalised by poverty. We’re here to help give the next generation power – the power to seize control of their own futures. And in doing so, they can contribute to their communities and country.”

Richard Chetty, Director of Services for Samsung South Africa, says, “Not only does the Boys to Men and Women Technical Programme arm students with the necessary engineering skills, graduates are given the opportunity to work within the Samsung Service Centres, which launches them into sustainable employment.”

Students are taken through an intensive technical training course followed by a month of in-service training. Once this is completed, the young graduates are taught about client service and then they are deployed to Samsung Service Centres.

In addition to the Women Technical Programme and Boys to Men, there are six academies that matriculants between the ages of 18 to 25 can apply to. These are: Samsung Academy in Midrand (previously located in Boksburg); Refrigeration and Aircon Academy at EEC KwaThema College; Tshwane North College in Hammanskraal; Orbit College in Mogwase; Gerit Sibande College in Standerton; and KwaMashu Coastal College in KwaMashu.

Samsung is also seeking applicants who have completed an Engineering diploma or degree – these candidates will be taken through the same technical engineering course but will have a different career trajectory laid out for them within Samsung Electronics.

“We’re on a drive to give the youth of South Africa hope for the future with viable careers in a highly desirable field. Our graduates have all entered the workplace with essential electronic engineering skills, allowing them to support themselves and make a positive impact on their families and communities,” says Chetty.

For both the Women Technical Programme and Boys to Men, applicants need to have a Matric Certificate and a valid driver’s licence. The initiative is a six months programme held from June to November at the Samsung Engineering Academy in Midrand.

Matriculants or Engineering graduates who wish to apply for the next intake, which beings in June, can e-mail their CV’s, drivers license and matric certificates to Janine.Singh@Samsung.com by 30^th April 2018.

This year, South African women celebrate the 61^st anniversary of the Women’s March to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, protesting pass laws. Although great strides have been made since then, women are still largely excluded from certain sectors, despite being the country’s economic driving force. Millions of women across the country’s townships are left destitute, often with no way of caring for their families.

According to *StatsSA, the unemployment rate in South Africa is currently at 27.7%, and according to the 2017 Grant Thornton Women in Business report, only 28% of senior management positions in South Africa are filled by women. This figure has gone up by only 2 percentage points in the past 15 years, an indicator of the slow integration process. However, Samsung’s Women Technical Programme is working to balance the scales quicker.

Richard Chetty, Director of Services at Samsung South Africa, explains that women have been excluded from the electronics field for far too long, “Women have an eye for detail and deliver quality work, which makes them ideal for this sector. To address the gender disparity in the industry and to add to the pool of talented technical specialists required to service and support the growing consumer electronics and mobile phone markets, we welcome women into Samsung’s technical programme.”

This programme has seen the first intake of 16 young women graduate from the programme and they are now all employed at Samsung Service Centres in Gauteng. The second intake of women are due to complete their training in September, providing them the opportunity to receive skills and become self-sufficient.

The women included in Samsung’s Women Technical Programme are between the ages of 18 and 25, are from the townships around Ekurhuleni and have already completed a college qualification. If they have not secured employment, they are then accepted in this programme. They complete a six-month in-depth technical training course, followed by a month of in-service training. Once, after gaining the technical knowledge they need, students are exposed to the public and are taught the ins and outs of client service. Students return to Samsung’s Women Technical Programme to round out their training. Service Centres can offer the fully trained students permanent employment, providing them with the first stepping stone to a career in the electronics sector.

“Samsung is ensuring that women are taking up more space in the electronics field and of that, we are proud,” concludes Chetty.

*Source: http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=9960