It’s no secret that unemployment in South Africa has reached critical levels.

Recent statistics reveal that the country’s unemployment rate increased to 27,6% in the first quarter of 2019.

What that means is that roughly 6,2 million South Africans between the ages of 15 and 64 currently don’t have the means to support themselves or their families.

The situation is even worse for young people, with 55,2% of 15- to 24-year-olds unemployed.

So what can we do about this? The solution could potentially lie in the small business ecosystem, which brings us to Trusted Interns.

Trusted Interns, an online platform connecting the learning world and the working world, is on a mission to educate organisations on the benefits of hiring graduate interns.

“This is an opportunity to tap into the tech-savvy youth, who are positioned to offer businesses a fresh perspective and introduce new ideas. Additionally, it provides an avenue to connect with and understand this emerging demographic, while mentoring potential future entrepreneurs and providing much needed employment prospects to the youth,” says Jaryd Raizon, founder of Trusted Interns.

The most recent Small Business Pulse survey by Yoco revealed that 32% of respondents planned to employ more staff within the next 12 months.

As such, Trusted Interns has partnered with Yoco to launch #ShiftTomorrow, a two-pronged campaign that directly addresses South Africa’s unemployment crisis while helping small businesses grow.

Yoco has in excess of 43 000 small businesses using its payment and point-of-sale technology, providing a perfect opportunity for the two organisations to marry their respective communities.

“We believe that the success of our economy lies in small business,” says Katlego Maphai, co-founder and CEO at Yoco. “And while it is already responsible for providing a huge number of jobs, this sector has the power to create millions more.”

The initiative aims to enable as many small businesses as possible to focus on employment and grow their teams by hiring educated and qualified young South Africans as paid interns before Mandela Day on July 18.

Paid interns – that’s very, very important.

Throughout this campaign, any small business with 10 employees or less will get an 80% reduction on their placement fee with Trusted Interns.

“Already, the campaign has received support from Andile Khumalo’s I am an Entrepreneur and Silicon Cape, who are inviting participation from their communities, and Red & Yellow has pledged to sponsor five placements. We are also chatting to other startup and small business networks to ensure the campaign receives maximum traction and exposure during the month,” says Raizon.

If you’re starting a small business and need some invaluable advice, you should check out this incredible resource, provided by Yoco.

If you’re already up and running and would like to participate in this incredible initiative, here’s what you need to know:

To qualify for the #ShiftTomorrow initiative, small businesses must provide meaningful and relevant work experience that imparts job-related skills, and provide interns with a monthly salary of at least R3500 for three months or more.

Visit www.trustedinterns.co.za/shift-tomorrow to create an account, load an internship for an entry-level job, and do your part.

This information was provided by Yoco – helping power businesses since 2013.