13 August 2018 – Johannesburg – When Claudia Sithole, aged 24, arrives for work at a supermarket and announces that she’s been sent to cover for an absent butcher, the other workers think she’s joking.
“But you’re a woman,” they say.
Claudia responds by setting to work at the butcher’s block, easily wielding the equipment usually handled by men, cutting and portioning meat like an expert. This is the best part of her day – when she is at the height of her craft and knows that people look at her differently. She always tells other young women: “This could be you”.
Claudia is part of a butchery programme designed by Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator for Freddy Hirsch, Southern Africa's largest supplier of industrial spices, casings, and meat processing equipment. Claudia learnt her trade at a butchery school - one of the services Freddy Hirsch offers its customers, which include retail groups and hundreds of independent stores and butcheries.
Says Claudia: “My life is so much better now. I love knowing that I’m a young working woman with a job I’m good at. Every day I go home feeling proud of myself.”
Michelle van Rhyn, manager of the butcher school, says, “We really wanted to address the problem of South Africa’s high level of youth unemployment, so we piloted with Harambee starting in 2016. Our customers were pleased so we expanded the programme. Historically women don’t become butchers, but we’ve discovered they’re really good at it. Butchery is a scarce skill in South Africa. It gives lots of options for employment, from retail and wholesale to the food and beverage industry, and even as entrepreneurs.”
Despite the ongoing push for gender equality, labour force participation remains lower for young women than for young men even with an increased focus on legislation and diversity in the workplace. Breaking Barriers, Harambee’s Quarterly Employment Report, looks at the barriers that young women face in finding and keeping jobs and what solutions are working. Watch some of these young women’s stories here.
Image of Claudia Sithole.
About Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is a not-for-profit social enterprise that builds solutions to tackle youth unemployment. The organisation partners with businesses to match their entry-level requirements to their network of high-potential work-seekers who have been locked out of the formal economy, typically because they have no networks and come from social grant dependent households. Through scientifically rigorous matching tools and behavioural readiness programmes, Harambee reduces hiring risk and enables new job creation by focusing on churn, skills scarcity and retention, supported by change management with employers. Harambee’s model for change also builds solutions to address system-wide challenges through research, innovation and public-private partnerships.
Breaking Barriers, Harambee’s Quarterly Employment Report
This quarter’s report looks at the barriers that young women face in finding and keeping jobs and what solutions are working. Read the report here.
About Freddy Hirsch
Founded in 1956 by current Chairperson, Freddy Hirsch, the company has grown into Southern Africa's largest supplier of industrial spices, casings, and meat processing equipment. The business services thousands of customers, including independent butcheries, major retail chain stores, meat processing factories and poultry factories.
For more information, contact:
Andy Berelowitz
Lingo Communications
Tel: 073 799 2322
Email: andy@lingocom.co.za
