"The contact centre industry is creating over 5,000 new jobs every year to service the international BPO market. Our biggest challenge is finding the right people to fill the available positions. We hope Team C4, a new learning game, will help address this challenge, "says Gareth Pritchard, CEO of BEPSA Western Cape. The game which will help identify and assess talent will be piloted in the Western Cape and rolled out across the country later this year.
Planning for the game started in 2012 when BPESA joined with creative design and development partner Formula D interactive, who have considerable experience and specialise in the design and production of learning games. After discussing the skills challenges facing the industry, they hatched the idea of using gamification to reach the youth market.
"In order to make the game a reality, we needed a funder who not only believed in the potential of the industry, but was also visionary enough to see the gamification innovation tool that could attract unemployed youth. The Rockefeller Foundation saw the project as a perfect fit with their Digital Jobs Africa Initiative and decided to support us," says Pritchard.
The investment, which forms part of the Foundation's broader strategy of influencing social change through Impact Sourcing, is an inclusive employment practice through which companies intentionally connect high-potential, disadvantaged youth to available jobs which they would otherwise not have access to. The Foundation has targeted six countries in Africa, of which South Africa is one. "We have identified the contact centre industry as having potential to make a difference through impact sourcing for thousands of young South Africans trying to enter the job market, and we look forward to continuing our work with BPESA on this initiative," says Mamadou Biteye, managing director of The Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional Office.
Michael Wolf, founder and creative director of Formula D interactive commented, "We are very excited about Team C4 and the feedback we have got to date has been really positive. The game, which assesses core industry competencies, will look at the player's numeracy, literacy, problem solving and language capabilities and will provide industry with a targeted and cost-effective recruitment tool."
"Our industry has always struggled to identify relevant talent on scale, but through Team C4 I believe we may have found the answer. Not only will the game help the industry in sourcing talent, more importantly it will show the participants whether they are suited to a career in a contact centre or not. By finding the right people upfront we believe we will be able reduce attrition and cut costs," says Tebogo Molapisane, CEO of BPESA National.
"This is a first for our industry in South Africa and I will be watching the pilot very closely over the next few months. With most of the people employed in the industry coming straight out of matric, I believe we have the perfect tool to reach the youth and look forward to replicating its success across South Africa in 2015 and beyond."
The game is available for download on www.teamc4.co.za and via Google Play - Team C4 was unveiled to the public on 3 September at the new BPESA offices at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
