IT only takes one look at the latest unemployment statistics to know that creating sustainable jobs must become the number one priority for South Africa today.“Despite the headwinds, it is critical that corporates find new ways to build and grow sustainable jobs,” says Max Oliva, CEO of SPAR Southern Africa.
The latest employment data in South Africa shows that 179,000 more people were unemployed in the first quarter of this year than in the fourth quarter last year, with unemployment hitting a staggering 32.9%. Even more concerning is that 47% of South Africans are reported to be relying on social grants.
In 2016, The SPAR Group embarked on the journey to develop and invest in small-scale farmer entrepreneurs. This led to the establishment of the Group’s first Rural Hub in Ofcolaco, in the Mopani District of Limpopo.
“Our Rural Hub model is intentionally focused on rural community development and supports small-scale farmers by providing guaranteed markets for their products and by providing relevant technical and food safety training, as well as facilitating access to funding,” explains Oliva.
The SPAR Rural Hub today supports 12 small-scale farmers in Limpopo and has created 103 jobs at farm level and 62 secondary jobs at packhouse and technical services level.
Notably, a total of 63% of the product grown by the participating Rural Hub farmers is supplied to SPAR under the Freshline and Country Value labels and delivered to SPAR South Rand, North Rand and KwaZulu-Natal distribution centres. High-value crops through the SPAR Freshline brand are ultimately more profitable for the farmer.
Education and leadership are the key pillars to ongoing jobs growth and skills development and in this regard the SPAR Academy of Learning and its JumpStart programme is playing a unique role in leadership development in the South African landscape.
“Both programmes draw on thought leadership academically, conceptually, and practically in a way that makes them highly relevant,” says Oliva. “JumpStart for instance, lays the foundations to address unemployment through a sustainable conduit giving young people the opportunity to experience the world of work, and the world of retail.”
The SPAR Group has also partnered with FutureMe since 2016, working with high school learners to inspire them to follow a career in retail. Topics such as values, personal branding, business ethics, customer service, problem solving, and entrepreneurship are all addressed in the programme. Graduates from FutureMe’s Go-Getter Challenge who want to pursue a career in stores are also encouraged to join SPAR’s JumpStart programme where they can get hands-on experience in a retail store environment.
Meanwhile, the SPAR Distribution Centres and central office teams continue to provide opportunities for graduates to gain work experience through internships, with 772 people participating to date.
To further ramp up opportunities in the modern digital age, in 2022 SPAR Southern Africa embarked on a second round of the , with an initial cohort of 441 learners.
“We are delighted to report that as at the end of March 2023, with the conclusion of the 2022 programme, we managed to permanently employ 46 learners which, at 10.43%, is higher than the YES requirement of an absorption rate of 2.5%”, says Oliva.
“We commenced with our 2023 YES4Youth intake at the beginning of April 2023 with a total of onboarded. Our learners have been provided with smartphones to complete their modules through the YES4Youth app and are paid a monthly stipend as they get real workplace experience through training in retail stores, at our distribution centres and at SPAR’s central office”.
Micro and small-scale food producers are encouraged to sign up for the SPAR Supplier Development Programme, by following this link: https://sparsupplierdevelopment.co.za/
