Astrapak gives graduates a step up

According to the 2019 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the formal job market in South Africa only absorbs an estimate of 41 000 graduates each year with South African universities producing around 91 000 new graduates annually. This means that jobs are being created fast enough for all the new entrants into the labour force. 

Having a degree or other forms of tertiary qualifications does not immediately guarantee graduates employment. Sadly, many companies turn away recent graduates despite their energy and drive because they don’t have enough work experience. 

Berry Astrapak recently launched an entry level Graduate Programme in 2019 aimed at training and exposing recent graduates to the work environment. The programme was formalised by management and Nawaaz Kalick, Group Operations Executive, ran the initiative which focused on supply chain operations. 

“The programme is aimed at people who have obtained tertiary qualifications but have no real work experience after coming straight out of university. They just want someone to give them a chance, and we were willing to invest in them,” Nawaaz said. 

Since the initial programme was focused on supply chain operations, the recruitment panel shortlisted applicants with relevant qualifications and found three strong candidates. 

“We only had space for two candidates and we didn’t want to lose anyone. Fortunately, we were able to slot one of the candidates into our Internship Programme which we run concurrently,” explained Nawaaz. 

Not wanting to leave the graduates to their own devices without proper mentorship, each candidate was assigned to a management staff member who committed themselves and gave of their time to train them one-on-one. 

During the first few months, the graduates were exposed to various departments within supply chain operations in order for them to have a broad knowledge of the business at large. After finding their feet, the graduates were given responsibility over smaller projects and remained accountable to their managers. 

“From a managerial side, we are invested in the graduates’ growth and personal development. This programme was something we were all genuinely enthusiastic about and we spent a lot of time and effort to ensure the initiative’s overall success.”