A Day of 1,000 Opportunities

There are hundreds of BPO positions waiting to be filled in the Western Cape, however, there is a vast lack of work-ready candidates. To bridge this gap, we partnered with e-learning centre Futur-Ed to create and implement a work-readiness programme.

The goal of this programme is to provide skills training and job opportunities for the unemployed. First, successful applicants attend a 2-day course to the value of R5,000, absolutely free. 

Thereafter, the candidates are invited to the BPO Open Day, where some of the Western Cape’s most prestigious operators – such as Webhelp, WNS, and Capita – exhibit their career value propositions to the graduates of the training course. Interested individuals are interviewed right there at the expo, a day after completing the work-readiness programme, and have real opportunities to start a career. 

“As a part of our commitment to grow this sector, the City of Cape Town will partner with the National Skills Fund, under the Department of Higher Education and Training as well as industry, to fund training and stipends to the candidates in this sector,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos.

Our first-ever BPO Open Day was held at the Futur-Ed Centre in Athlone. Ismail Kaskar, Chairman of Rutherglen Investments and Futur-Ed’s parent company, said that the learning centre was a stepping stone towards reviving the once-thriving Athlone central business district into a training, technology and innovation hub.

“With many BPO staff members living in Athlone and surrounding Cape Flats areas and its multi-mode transport hub, it made perfect sense to establish a BPO hub in the area,” commented Kaskar.

“As the custodian and industry body in the region, CapeBPO finds incredible value in partnering with Futur-Ed in this manner,” said CapeBPO’s CEO Designate, Clayton Williams. “With 6,000 new jobs created in the international outsourcing segment in the last financial year alone, we understand the vast amount of job opportunities already waiting to be filled, as well as the growth we know is imminent within the BPO sector.”

This ground-breaking event has already kickstarted careers in the exciting BPO sector. For three years in a row, South Africa has been voted as the second most attractive BPO destination in the world, after India.

“I believe that for our City to compete globally and experience inclusive socio-economic growth, we must continue investing in skills and training for the sectors that are poised for substantial increases from employment and trade perspectives, instead of training for the sake of training,” said Alderman Vos.

Interested candidates are invited to email their CV to [email protected].