Education, employment partnership shortlisted for global award

17 Jul 2017

Columba Leadership and Money for Jam (M4JAM) have created a scalable business model that aims to drive employment, education, and sustainable community development, earning them a place on the Unilever Global Development Award shortlist.

A few of the Columba graduates engaging in an experiential learning activity at a Leadership Academy to gain skills like problem solving; working in teams; communicating and personal mastery to better equip them for the working world.

“Our partnership will enable us to become the biggest employer of youth in the country within the next five years,” says Andy Payne, chairman of micro-jobbing platform, M4JAM. This partnership was established as a result of the fact that South Africa has one of the most unequal societies in the world, with youth unemployment close to 60%. “Micro-jobbing and micro-training using mobile technology will do to traditional employment and education what Uber has done to transport,” he adds.

“Around the world education systems designed for the industrial era are not providing young people from under-served communities with the tools to succeed in the modern, post-industrial economy. Ethical leadership, sustained employment, and responsible capitalism in an inclusive economy have never been more important. South Africa’s current unemployment crisis demands an urgent and effective response,” continues Payne.

The partnership addresses these issues by using experiential learning of values to build character or grit with participation in projects to improve communities that builds skills like problem solving; working in teams; communicating and personal mastery. M4JAM on the other hand offers a unique way to address unemployment by providing a steady stream of micro-jobs to young job seekers.

“We do not believe that the formal sector is going to provide the levels of employment we need to effectively address unemployment in this country,” says Rob Taylor, founding chairman of youth leadership programme, Columba. “M4JAM, being at the forefront of micro-jobbing, offers opportunities for our graduates to earn an income while studying and making a social contribution by creating new jobs in the informal economy."

For more information, visit Columba Leadership or M4JAM.