CareerBox, a job placement platform, has expanded it services in Kenya as part of efforts to reduce unemployment using demand-led training. The company aims to create sustainable service industry job opportunities and bring hope to youth and women in the country.
As part of its efforts, CareerBox is also looking to promote impact sourcing, a business practice where organizations look toward previously disadvantaged communities to identify and develop high potential talent.
This includes highlighting the business benefits of this impact sourcing, including a comparable or lower cost to traditional recruitment methods, higher levels of employee motivation, lower attrition rates and fewer employee disputes. Beyond just having a positive impact on the employee, there is a multiplier effect, with these employees contributing to the socio-economic upliftment of their families and the communities that they come from.
“One of our early ambitions was to expand our African footprint, and the growing demand for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in Kenya from international clients has helped us do just that. Despite this increased availability of various contact centre-related jobs, there are many youth and women in the country who have academic qualifications, but are not technically ready for the world of work,” said Lizelle Strydom, MD at CareerBox.
Strydom further explains that there are differences in the Kenyan market. She notes that while there is high unemployment similar to South Africa, the applicants have tended to be highly educated and holding graduate qualifications or even higher. This has been reflected in the evaluation of the candidates, with much higher pass marks being observed.
“CareerBox has shown that you don’t need a degree or prior experience in order to get started in the contact centre industry. However, with many Kenyans having degrees, it makes it even better as they can make use of their qualifications to advance through their careers,” concluded Strydom.