Gradlinc – a simple solution to South Africa’s graduate unemployment crisis

As unemployment took a hard knock in South Africa in recent years, the pressure became worse for unemployed graduates as only approximately 30% of graduates¹ 1 find employment. This led to the birth of Gradlinc, a bespoke career development platform, and national database that was built with the aim to connect graduates and employers.

Founded less than three years ago, Gradlinc is more than a job portal. It is a one-stop shop for graduates seeking employment, employers having these opportunities available, and universities wanting to offer their graduates a strong foothold to kick-off their careers. According to entrepreneur in residence and project lead, Lizane Füzy, the idea behind Gradlinc was born out of the need for a more comprehensive career development tool that was identified at Stellenbosch University, which also funded the project through their Innovus division. Having ample experience within the academic and tertiary environment in the past, the team saw an opportunity to collaborate with universities in helping their students find employment during their studies, upon qualifying, and as alumni.

“This is a locally developed solution that offers a variety of opportunities for candidates ranging from full-time employment for graduates and alumni, internships, part-time employment and holiday work for students. What’s different about us is that we remove all the noise that other platforms have by creating a very affordable career development pathway exclusively for students and graduates to sign up while they are studying, or to join as a university alumnus and maintain lifelong access,” she says.

“Most graduates don’t know where to search for opportunities once they have completed their studies, and employers don’t have the time to select the ideal candidate, as they receive thousands of applications, costing them time and money to shortlist. Gradlinc removed all of these obstacles 1 https://ddp.org.za/blog/2022/06/03/why-tackling-graduate-unemployment-in-sa-is-important-for-post- covid19-economic-recovery/

when we created this easy one-stop-shop solution that enables university graduates to connect to existing opportunities by bringing employers and graduates together on one national platform, saving more than 90% of recruitment cost and wasted time on tedious recruitment process. At the same time, we offer a sustainable solution for universities’ career offices and support them to enhance their graduates’ employability.”

Lizane adds, “Youth unemployment is one of South Africa’s biggest challenges, and while we can’t solve the world’s problems with one platform, we can start small. The graduation space made a lot of sense because we have close relationships with the universities, we thus began with graduate unemployment. We saw the need to make an impact in these young people’s lives because many graduates lack mentorship or career guidance, don’t have a lot of opportunities or come from disadvantaged backgrounds”.

Social Media Option

If you're looking for a career with a growth mindset, then join us and make your mark to build your own success.

@gradlinc_sa is a graduate recruitment platform that matches talented graduates with leading employers. Current students, Graduates or Alumni can sign up and find jobs. Join the best companies and work alongside people who push your boundaries every day.

• Candidates create free accounts
• Qualifications are verified to make it easier for employers to hire you
• You get lifelong access to Gradlinc
• When alumni like you become employers, we can empower young talent together to take control of their careers and unlock opportunities for growth

#GraduateEmployment #AlumniAdvantage #CareerSuccess #StayConnected #UnlockOpportunities

#ShapeYourFuture #LeadersoftheFuture