MTN GDP recruits 12 Congo Brazzaville youths
DEVELOPMENT
| Nov. 20, 2014, 2:05 p.m.
By Issa Sikiti da Silva, in Kinshasa, DR Congo
A total of 12 young graduates in Congo Brazzaville are currently learning the ropes in MTN Congo as part of the mobile operator’s Graduate Development Programme (GDP), which was launched in May 2013 to help close the skills gap between academic training and the job market.
The training will last for 18 months, the South African mobile operator said, adding that the 12 have been chosen out of over 600 applications received and assessed by a team of human resources experts.
Analysts believe that the training dispensed at most of Africa’s tertiary institutions is far from being perfect to match the requirements of the employers.
“The African corporate sector, especially big businesses, must play a prominent role to help young people fill that gap. Or else, reforms are needed to ensure that the training matches at least 70% of the employers’ needs,” HR specialist Jean-Claude Banzouzi told Biztechafrica.
MTN has understood that logic and came to the rescue of thousands of young Congolese students who graduate every year but remain jobless, due to a number of factors.
The selection process was not as easy as ABC because the company needed to do some soul-searching before making the ‘executive decision’.
Miere explains: “After getting the results from the recruiters, we asked ourselves many questions to see if what we have indeed corresponds to our expectations and needs, given the specifications of the workplace.
“Our goal is to integrate these young people with their academic training in our company, which is a highly dynamic environment that moves very quickly.”
Despite experiencing an economic growth of 3.4% in 2013, Congo Brazzaville continues to battle with high levels of unemployment, which is currently hovering around 34%, according to government statistics.
Unemployment is mostly affecting young people between the age of 25 and 35, including thousands of graduates.
