BLACK WOLF YOUTH AGENCY HELPS TO UPSKILL SA YOUTH

Cape Town, 28 April 2022: As South Africa looks to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic, corruption, and more, Statistics South Africa has reported that 35 in 100 South Africans are unemployed while youth unemployment sits at 66,5%.

This is why marketing technology firm Black Wolf Group has dedicated the last four years to youth development and training with their Black Wolf Youth Agency, a non-profit division within the company.

Officially founded in 2020, Black Wolf Youth Agency is the official strategic partner to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), specifically within the institution’s marketing and work-integrated learning department. The agency operates as an education solutions hub, providing training, mentorship, and placement to university students and graduates from across the country. In collaboration with CPUT, it recently launched its marketing society, which exposes students to industry leaders through online and offline events. The launch of the marketing society took place from 4-8 April and saw more than 170 students receive guidance and insight on their career paths.

“Unemployment has risen steadily over the last few years and the micro and small business sector provides a great foundational incubator for skills training,” says Sven Wolf, Managing Director at Black Wolf  Group. “We are not unaware of the many barriers of entry to the workforce, especially in larger corporates, which is why all our programmes support the learning journey with a focus on training and development within the marketing discipline.”

Currently, the youth agency offers programmes in work readiness, where it partners with universities and businesses to provide brand marketing challenges that form part of the curriculum and are assessed for marks; learning management systems in partnership with human resource departments, where youth are taught culturally relevant learning techniques that can be used across scalable online training platforms; and training and mentoring for graduates, who are given opportunities to service real clients. The agency furthermore partners with industry professionals to provide free coding classes for young marketers interested in expanding their 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution) skills.

Prompted by the impacts of COVID-19, the non-profit has assisted in upskilling 120 students annually since 2020 through digital learning applications, with 11 students receiving placements at Black Wolf after the completion of the programme.

“As more and more youth find it difficult to secure work, Black Wolf Youth Agency’s programmes aim to meet the government’s goal of bringing more people into the mainstream economy through skills training that, while focused on marketing, are sought after by South African and global employers,” adds Wolf.

And the benefits are numerous: increasing the skills of students entering the workforce, promoting entrepreneurship, and empowering the country’s future leaders by setting a solid foundation. Students are also able to volunteer to be part of the youth agency to be upskilled in digital marketing within a working environment.

The agency currently counts PRIMI, Reebok, and TEDxCapeTown as partners in this initiative, and is open to further collaboration with like-minded organisations and brands looking to address the youth unemployment crisis head-on and bridge the gap between skills training and experience.

For more information or to partner with Black Wolf Youth Agency visit https://blackwolfyouthagency.org/.