The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme aims to equip job seekers with the skills required to find work and to become valuable employees.

In order to broaden the impact of the Wilderness Foundation’s social intervention programme and to specifically address poverty and youth employment, the Wilderness Foundation has developed a new intervention which builds on the strength of the Umzi Wethu brand. The programme will benefit  up to 300 job seekers per year.

The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme combines an established job readiness training programme (Work 4A Living) together with a comprehensive life skills programme.  The life skills aspect of the programme takes a holistic approach to student wellness with a focus on HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health, as well as environmental awareness. The environmental aspect is facilitated through “green workshops” and links with other experiential education projects within the Wilderness Foundation.

The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Model

Developed by the Umzi Wethu Project Management Unit (PMU), the Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme targets job seekers between the ages of 18 and 35 years. It is made up of 20 workshops, presented over five weeks.

It caters for individual job seekers who make contact with the programme through their own job search efforts, or through Umzi Wethu partner organisations that are already working with youth in other contexts (i.e., Ubuntu Education Fund, Grassroots Soccer).

2 Key Components of Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme

Job Readiness and Life Skills are two of the major components of the programme. Through these components, the Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme aims to empower job seekers across 7 domains of wellness in order to ensure that they are:

• Better prepared to enter the world of work
• Better equipped to take responsibility for their physical health and wellness
• Better educated with regards to environmental issues and their own personal impact on the environment

7 Domains of Wellness:

These are based on the holistic Umzi Wethu wellness model.

1. Occupational Wellness
2. Physical Wellness
3. Environmental Wellness
4. Emotional Wellness
5. Social Wellness
6. Mental Wellness
7. Spiritual Wellness

Job Readiness – Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme

Job readiness is the first component of the Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme, and is based on the Work 4A Living curriculum developed by Siya Sebenza. The Work 4A Living programme was developed in 2007 in order to bridge the gap between industry and unemployed people.

In 2011, the Wilderness Foundation partnered with Siya Sebenza in order to become an accredited Work 4A Living training provider.

The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme is designed to address five key attitudes which were identified as the primary drivers behind poverty and unemployment amongst South African youth including:

1. The Poverty Mindset which says “I am poor, I will always be poor. I cannot change”
2. The Sense Of Entitlement  –  “I am owed …”
3. The Dependency Syndrome – dependency on Government, NGO’s or anyone who has anything!
4. A Lack Of A “Standard Of Excellence” in the workplace
5. A Lack Of Moral Character both in the workplace and in personal lives

The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme curriculum sets out to address these attitudes through dialogue and instruction. Once these issues have been addressed, students are equipped with a portfolio of job skills which will make them more attractive to employers, as well as more employable.

This job readiness component, or first phase of the Umzi Wethu Livelihoods curriculum, focuses on the following aspects of personal wellness through 10 interactive workshops presented to job seekers:

• Occupational Wellness – work ethic, professionalism, time management, financial literacy, service excellence, job preparation, reliability in the workplace etc
• Social Wellness – communication skills
• Spiritual Wellness – values, culture and morals
• Mental Wellness – planning skills

Throughout the intervention, job seekers are assisted in developing a vertical career path which will lead to growth and development, as opposed to the more common horizontal career path which leads to stagnation and poverty.

Instead of simply migrating from job to job, students are taught how to:

• plan a career pathway
• build up a skills portfolio
• maximize employment opportunities by learning how to:
  • perform an effective job search
  • conduct professional job interviews
  • grow and develop in their jobs by working to a standard of excellence and having a good work ethic - so that they may be promoted,  thereby progressing vertically in their career path.
  • start their own business, maintain it and build capacity so that it can support the entrepreneur and his family properly.

Once students have successfully completed these tasks, they move onto the second phase of the Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme curriculum. Phase two involves facilitating students’ progress into one of four career pathways:

1. Employment
   The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme will leverage its networks in the private sector and encourage businesses to employ the highly motivated and professional gradates
2. Entrepreneurship
   The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme staff are equipped to assist emerging entrepreneurs by teaching business skills and providing mentoring and assistance to new business owners
3. Specific Skills Development
   e.g. Computer literacy, Drivers licenses, English literacy etc.
4. Education
   The Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme may encourage students to return to school, college or university after completing the programme in order to further their education

Life Skills

Through the Umzi Wethu Academy, which was established in 2005, the Wilderness Foundation proved the importance and efficacy of holistic interventions which combine skills development and personal wellness. This approach is being implemented with the new Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme.

The Wilderness Foundation had developed a holistic wellness component which runs alongside the job readiness component of the Umzi Wethu Livelihoods Programme.

The life skills modules are inspired by the curriculum developed by Etafeni Trust for “Fit for Life” as well as the life skills curriculum currently used in the Umzi Wethu Academy projects.  The life skills component focuses on the following aspects of personal wellness:

• Physical Wellness – sexual & reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse workshops
• Environmental Wellness – green workshops and sustainable livelihoods training workshops

Further life skills sessions will be integrated based on on-going needs analysis throughout the life of the programme.

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