Residents urged to start businesses to develop marketable workplace skills
At a recent Job Readiness Workshop, HR practitioner Nomvula Buthelezi and community development enthusiast Musawenkosi Mashinini advised that small entrepreneurial ventures can help job seekers develop skills that are marketable to employers.
Community development enthusiast and Standard Bank representative Musawenkosi Mashinini urged job seekers who are navigating the labour market, searching for employment opportunities, to start their own businesses while at it. He said this will help them develop skills that will assure employers of their capabilities, especially if they do not have any work experience.
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Mashinini was one of the speakers at the Job Readiness Workshop hosted by SA Job Seekers Movement in conjunction with Altron, Rohlig Grindrod, and Standard Bank at the Alexandra Motswedi Skill Centre on April 8.
He told attendees not to underestimate the role of small entrepreneurial ventures in enhancing their employability, adding that they can help them acquire marketable skills for the job market.
“Let’s start businesses. Whatever it is you are doing there, it is teaching you how to manage your own finances. It is also teaching you how to interact with people. So, when you draft your CV, that is what you also need to highlight. It is how you structure that experience in your CV which is important,” he noted.
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His views were echoed by human resource practitioner and founder of Zamashenge Consultancy Nomvula Buthelezi. She said an entrepreneurial background suggests a strategic mindset and appetite for risk, and is therefore appealing to employers. “Entrepreneurs often wear multiple hats. This means that they are likely to bring adaptive thinking, problem-solving, and innovation into practice, especially in designing strategies that work in resource-constrained or rapidly changing environments.”
She added that market perception is a big part of professional growth, therefore, it can suggest that one who has explored entrepreneurship is a high-value candidate. “We also perceive people who have run their own businesses as often understanding the challenges of managing people, building culture, and navigating uncertainty.”
Buthelezi further noted that job seekers with entrepreneurial experience might have better employment prospects, because employers often seek team members who think and behave like business owners.
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