Ravi Naidoo YES CEO Y4T content creators, Tshepiso Makone, Sibusiso Zulu, Siyakudumisa Tom and Paul Hanratty Sanlam CEO
Youth4Tourism has already seen youth being trained and employed as tour guides, event coordinators, concierges, chefs, guest managers, travel agents, and content creators. These content creators have been placed across South Africa to promote and support tourist attractions in their hometowns and surrounds, through creative outputs like photography and videography.
“It’s inspiring to hear the stories of young people who are grabbing these opportunities,” says Ravi Naidoo, CEO of YES. “Tourism is vital to South Africa’s economy and should be our top foreign revenue generator for the country. It’s also a great sector for the employment of young people. As we look forward to rebuilding our tourism sector after the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to upskill young people and create a talent pipeline for the industry in various future-facing roles.
Take Thabo Mnisi, for example. He recently joined the YES programme sponsored by Sanlam and is currently working at the Skukuza Cricket Club House in the Kruger National Park. Like millions of South African youth, Thabo struggled to find a job, feeling dejected and hopeless. As a result of the programme, he is now able to support his family financially, and hopes to establish his own company one day.