For the next 18 months Sibabalwe Swartbooi will get an inside track into the intricacies of the business world.
As part of this adventure Swartbooi, a grade 11 pupil at Union High School in Graaff-Reneit in the Eastern Cape, will attend the board meetings of a major bank, pitch campaigns and do market research – all as part of an 18 month programme to hone his leadership skills..
“I’m really excited about this, as it is an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Swartbooi.
“It is wonderful exposure for myself…I am sure that it will provide us with great opportunities in the future,” he said.
Swartbooi is part of a group of 12 learners who have been selected by ABSA to serve on its first Junior Board. It is an initiative to identify talented youngsters and expose them to the real world of business.
Eighteen candidates were initially short-listed based on their performance in the World Maths and Science Olympiads, and the list was whittled down to 12 youths from across South Africa. The twelve learners range from grades 10 to 12.
According to Venete Klein, executive director for Absa Retail Bank, the junior board members ‘were selected to enhance dialogue among youth by giving them a platform to discuss issues that are relevant to them’.
“We are very excited about launching this initiative which allows us to play our part in developing the next generation of leaders,” she said.
The scholars were each provided with a laptop and will each receive a stipend of R2000 for every board meeting they attend.
“They have to attend four Absa board meetings during the year and they will be given various tasks, for instance to develop a product or a marketing campaign for the youth market. They will also be tasked with conducting research in their home towns (in between board meetings).”
The candidates will also work closely with the regional executive in their respective province in between board meetings, to tailor their plans to suit the province they originate from.
The learners would also experience practical training such as business writing, presentation skills and a high performance directors’ programme, an intensive business leadership training course similar to the one that Absa executives undergo, and will receive an official certificate of participation at the end of each year.