The first cohort of FirstJob Interns is set to enter the job market after they recently concluded a 12-month on-the-job intensive training course with FirstRand Namibia Group.
Speaking at a farewell event held in their honour, FirstRand Namibia Group chief human capital officer Isdor Angula said “as a leading and innovative financial service organisation, FirstRand Namibia saw an opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of our youth. Through this initiative, we have, see how an initiative like this can have a constructive impact on unemployment in our country”.
The FirstJob initiative, which was launched in March of 2022, onboarded a total of 17 graduates and interns. The group also assisted five students to complete their Work Integrated Learning and meet university requirements to obtain their degrees.
At the same occasion, RMB CEO Philip Chapman congratulated the interns for completing their training and urged them to always seek out opportunities to further develop their skills.
“The FirstJob initiative shows there are opportunities within the FirstRand Group to transfer crucial skills to the youth. This gives us a different perspective and equips us as an organisation to better serve our people as we work towards building a globally competitive Namibia,” he said.
FirstRand Namibia Group Talent Enablement head Wiann Mans highlighted that FirstRand Namibia has more than doubled its collective intake in 2023, onboarding a total of five graduates and 32 FirstJob Interns.
The group will also try to accommodate as many final-year students needing Work Integrated Learning to fulfil university requirements, depending on the need and internal capacity.
“We have certainly learned a lot over the past 12 months, and we aim to continuously improve on the exposure and development associated with the FirstJob initiative – whether for graduates, interns or students in need of Work Integrated Learning. We urge all qualifying students and graduates to apply for the FirstJob programmes when we advertise in July of this year for our 2024 intake,” Mans said.
“On behalf of FirstRand Namibia, I wish all the interns well on their career journeys to come from hereon. We thank you for your dedication and commitment over the past 12 months. You have shown the calibre of talent we have in Namibia and your performance over the past year was a testament to what we, as Namibians, can achieve when given the opportunity. Our Namibian workforce will, without a doubt, be a better place with you in it,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Fillipus Jeremia who completed his internship in Group Internal Audit (GIA), expressed his gratitude to the organisation as well as his mentors.
“Working under GIA was an excellent opportunity for me to begin my career as a graduate. Through the audit process, I was able to get a full view and understand what each business unit is about, as well as the overall structure of the organisation. I had direct access to senior staff members within the organisation, which expanded my knowledge and provided me with an opportunity to tap into their well of diverse knowledge, skills, and expertise which has also helped me build strong family-like relationships that go beyond the corporate world. I was further able to discover new talents and passions,” he said.