It is widely acknowledged that unemployment, especially amongst South Africa’s youth, women and black population, remains unacceptably high. To help correct the past effects of South Africa’s poor education, apartheid legacies and the large skill mismatches, Grey sees the employment of interns as a pressing priority.

By actively providing the necessary on-the-job training and formal work experience, these young job-seekers will benefit by gaining the necessary skills and experience that will be needed for them to gain permanent employment and to ultimately help drive the local economy forward.

To ensure that the agency and the interns both get the most out of the internship, Grey have a planned inclusion strategy in place that takes full advantage of their talent, skills and their willingness to gain knowledge and improve their skill set.

The Grey internship programme also provides a platform for the interns to understand themselves better by knowing their strengths and enhancing their competencies.

The new interns are Anathi Khumalo (social media), Grace Rangata (client service), Karabo Malete (digital), Regomoditswe Mpye (social media) and Thokozani Malaza (digital).

The interns will be assisting in all aspects of the business, including client service; digital; and the social media teams, which will ensure they acquire technical skills training, communication skills, project management, decision making and general skills. The interns will also be dealing with clients, assisting in their respective departments and adding value to the growth of the business.

Grey believes that if done correctly, internships can be a valuable added resource to growing, entrepreneurial companies. They can also be an incredible experience for young adults wanting to learn more about careers in their chosen fields. Done incorrectly, however, internships can be a distracting dead end for the company and a waste of time for the interns.

A recent study showed that 41% of South African companies report that a change plan has been approved to implement workforce training in 2016 and today’s workforce is forcing a new level of transparency between employers and employees.

In future, it’s the successful companies that will navigate these changes, by not only defying how work has been done in the past, but by actively being concerned about how it could, and might, be done tomorrow.

“When it comes to internships it is vital to have no expectations and have your head in the game. One of the best advice we want to give our new interns is to be ready for anything, put your best foot forward and always be ready to learn. Prospects of growth are plenty” says Paul Jackson, MD of Grey Africa.

For more information, visit www.grey.com. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.