The programme empowers the company to bolster its team while also addressing ongoing employment challenges in the region.

The project evolved from the idea of Ursula Strauss, managing director of Xaxis South Africa. It aims at creating employment and skills development opportunities in digital media, an industry often overlooked due to perceived entry barriers.

Despite the staggering youth unemployment rate of South Africa, which stands at 60%, businesses like Xaxis have struggled to grow their teams because they can't find candidates with the desired basic digital media skill set, says the team on the project.

"We had jobs to offer but nobody to offer them to," says Strauss.

Strauss adds, "Our sector is not reliant on traditional education structures; instead, we have been able to build career pathways working with those who have the fundamentals of digital media knowledge. Our emphasis has been to recruit those with a passion for learning and strengths in communication, team building and other core organisational skills."

To launch the programme, Xaxis collaborated with Steffan van der Male, head of iHub Africa, an initiative committed to training underprivileged African youth in basic digital media skills, alongside general personal and business skills.

The scheme has become a pivotal mechanism for building bridges between corporates and young African talent. After completing a nine-month iHub course, graduates Nvelwenhle Ncube, Camilla Moyo and Immaculate Moyo then enrolled in the Xaxis FastTrack programme.

Leaning on Xaxis United Kingdom, the South Africa team was able to provide access to a wealth of resources, such as:
  • webinars
  • learning material, and
  • Google-certified exams.

"I never imagined myself in a corporate environment," says Ncube. "I fell in love with my profession and today I am working hard to be the best at it."

Strauss concludes, "There is a huge education, skill and employment gap in South Africa. I believe we are bridging it by providing these young people with opportunities to change their own and their family's circumstances — allowing them to dream more, learn more and become more. I'm extremely fortunate and grateful to play a small part in driving this initiative forward year-on-year."

For more information, visit www.xaxis.com. You can also follow Xaxis on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.