MSD Renews Commitment To Youth Employment And Socio-Economic Initiatives In SA
MSD Renews Commitment To Youth Employment And Socio-Economic Initiatives In SA. Global pharmaceutical company MSD recently hosted the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Mr Buti Manamela at its Midrand Campus to officially launch the company’s 2023 Graduate Placement and Youth Employment Services (YES) program.
YES is a collaborative effort between the government, business, and labour to address youth unemployment in South Africa. This comes after MSD was recently verified as a Level 4 B-BBEE contributor, no small feat for the US-headquartered enterprise given the limitations of the local ownership component for multinationals operating in South Africa. The achievement is the result of MSD’s investment in supporting transformation, which includes graduate and youth employment initiatives, preferential procurement, socio-economic development (SED) and various health systems strengthening programs.
MSD recently introduced strategies to comply with the B-BBEE regulations, which include a grant through MSD for Mothers to the Unjani Clinics Network. This provides access to health for communities who cannot afford medical aid, but access maternal health services through private institutions. The organisation also contributed to ACFS-Feeding Scheme, a non-profit organisation that provides meals, school materials, clothing, and toiletries to 1,000 child-headed households, usually common in areas with high AIDS mortality and with challenges linked to COVID-19.
MSD, which focuses on innovation in therapeutic areas such as HIV, oncology, vaccines, infectious diseases and antivirals, has been extensively involved in running HIV and oncology clinical trials in the country. More than 1,250 clinical trials have been conducted across Africa, mostly in South Africa, with an accumulative investment of over $40 million over several years. “The biggest benefit of conducting clinical trials locally is that they provide critical data and real-world evidence addressing efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of our medicines in our local patient profile,” says Zweli Bashman, MD, MSD South Africa & sub-Saharan Africa. “The secondary benefit is the skills transfer and employment creation as these trials can run for a period of several years at a time.”
Addressing the 120 delegates who attended the MSD graduate placement launch, Mr Manamela said that 1.2 million students are funded through the government’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) which has expanded over the years and yields about 70% of graduates annually. “10% of graduates are unemployed, up from 6% in previous years,” he said. “That’s why government wants to see more graduates being absorbed into projects such as the one MSD has launched to increase employment opportunities for young people from universities and TVET colleges. This increases the employment chances for graduates in South Africa.” Manamela added that private organisations need to expand their involvement in the YES initiative, which was introduced as government’s challenge to the private sector to help curb youth unemployment.
Speaking at the launch, Mamelodi-based YES program beneficiary Sibusiso Khoza, who is studying towards a teaching degree and is currently employed as an administrator at an organisation that manages work injury claims, said: “The work experience that I gained will assist me in my career as a teacher because I have finally been given the opportunity to apply my knowledge and love for mathematics. I have also learned to engage well with people and have developed good communication skills. After this program, I want to complete my degree in teaching.”
