STUDENT

Empower the youth of tomorrow, today.

STUDENT JOURNEY

We place emphasis on creating permanent careers through a purpose-specific three-month programme. This ends with a career offer upon successfully achieving the required outcomes.

CAREERS CREATED

OUR TEAM ASCERTAINS CURRENT JOB DEMAND

We partner with companies, predominantly in the Contact Centre – also known as Global Business Services (GBS) – industry to understand the number of jobs they require. This gives us an indication of the scale of available career opportunities at any given time so that we only recruit enough candidates to fill the available positions that we have been allocated.

RECRUITING THROUGH COMMUNITY DRIVEN METHODS 

Assessments are done at the recruitment stage. This shows us if you are suited to a career in the contact centre world so that we are setting you and the company up for success. We also run all the necessary security and background checks required on behalf of our partner companies, ensuring you are able to meet their criteria at the outset to avoid disappointment at placement stage.

Should you not be successful with the assessment criteria this doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the road for you. You may be more suited to other roles outside of this industry; we can certainly assist in providing details of other opportunities that we are aware of outside of the contact centre industry.

SUCCESSFUL RECRUITS ARE INDUCTED INTO THE THREE-MONTH PROGRAMME 

On successfully being accepted into the programme, you will commence with your three-month job-specific career development programme. Our programme is designed to incorporate future required skills and competencies that are necessary for the ever-developing world of digitally-enabled customer service. 

This programme is tailor-made to the career that you will be placed into upon successfully achieving the required outcomes. Our expert career creators are there with you throughout the period to guide and equip you with the necessary skills for success. Learn more about our 3 Month Curriculum. Learn more.

STUDENTS WORK HARD ALONGSIDE OUR TEAM TO FULFIL RECRUITMENT CRITERIA

Our partner company’s recruitment criteria need to be achieved to qualify for a career as a contact centre advisor. We will do everything we can to work alongside you from the beginning to the end of your journey with us to help you to achieve these criteria. As with anything in life, the more you put into your studies the more you will take with you. So it is essential that we work hard together to make a success of things.

SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS RECEIVE THE SHADOW CAREERS ENDORSEMENT

After completing your hard work in meeting the necessary recruitment requirements, we promise to keep offering you support, encouragement and empowerment. You will be endorsed by Shadow Careers and we will vouch for you in your future endeavours.

SHADOWSHIP:
STUDENTS BECOME EMPLOYEES AND CAREER CREATORS, LEARNING TO PAY IT FORWARD

On successfully achieving your placement with one of our GBS partners, we ask you to promise us that you will go on and do a great job with them. By doing a good job you will ensure that customers are happy. Happy customers promote companies and in turn this generates more business for them. More business means that they will need to hire more people. That, in turn, means that you are helping to create a career opportunity for someone else. Essentially, excelling at your job can help someone who doesn’t currently have a job with an opportunity to become employed. This way, we are all making a difference – we have all become career creators.

STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES

Moesfiekah Davids

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that was involved in the Shadow project. This has really helped me to grow a lot as an individual. It taught me how to communicate with people. It has helped me and my family financially, if it were not for this opportunity, I would have still been unemployed.

 Once again, Thank you!

Fahiem Abrahams

 There is never a day where I am not thankful for this amazing experience.

 Shadow Careers Team has helped identify the heart connection through giving me the privilege of further education.

Natheer Abrahams

With the help from Shadow Careers Team, I was able to be brought out of my comfort zone and that taught me to be flexible. Gaining the self-knowledge helped me excel.

 From this point I’ll never forget where I came from and what I did to be where I am today.

 I want to thank everyone from Shadow Careers Team For being part of my adventure and for making my dream a reality. 

Rafeeqah Adams

I loved the motivation time because that built me to be a better person in life and I just want to say thank you!!

 Before I was given this opportunity, I went through some difficult life changing experiences which caused a lot of pain and heartache – thanks to the support of the Team for making me feel welcome and treating me like family. Because of the ongoing support I have a job today and I just want to say thank you for the opportunity I really do appreciate what you did for me.

Rodwin Carelse

Being part of the Shadow Program was a great experience for me as I really learnt a lot throughout the program. It helped me build my self-confidence and realizing my potential to communicate easily as I was not one to speak much. I have learnt so much from this program regarding having a heart in everything you do.

 It made me look at everything differently, especially at how we look and treat other people.

 Thank you for having me on the journey, I really do appreciate everything you did for us honestly speaking.

Jade Wiener

The project had a huge impact on my life, it really helped me a lot and helped me through all my issues and difficulties.

 It also changed me mentally and emotionally but mostly physically. It also made a big change through the pandemic.

 Thank you for everything. 

Janica Matthews

The programme really changed me as an individual. I left the programme with so many people supporting me. Days where I felt like giving up, I had brilliant facilitators that supported and motivated me to keep going because it was not the end of the world. Failure is part of Success!

 For once in my life I felt like everyone around me stood by me and never gave up even when I felt like giving up. The journey wasn’t easy, but I don’t regret any moment spent on this programme.

Kade Maans

This project has equipped me with the necessary skills such as good communication, navigating systems on a personal computer and to be functional in a call centre industry.

 The facilitators that were onboard with us during this project assisted and motivated us to reach our full potential. At times I felt like giving up but with constant motivation and support from the Shadow Careers facilitators, I can say that I am not far from reaching my goal.

Melvina Brink

I’ve been so many times in a bad position and faced many challenges. Being through all the challenges it didn’t make me stop doing what I was busy with, I continued to finish the race. Being on this programme changed me mentally.

 I’ve received so much support from my trainers and team. I learned good communication skills, how to navigate also how to work with different personalities and cultures. I became more outspoken and up for any challenge.

 Thank you for the wonderful opportunity, I truly appreciate it.

Vuyolwethu Motha

Now I have a job that I never imagined having, but with your support and motivating me to strive more in life  I do. It is not easy coming from a stressful background that demotivates you from succeeding.

 I am more outspoken now and working in groups has helped me a lot. It also prepares me for the outside world, it helped me deal with things much better, whether it was physically, mentally or emotionally.

 I never thought I would be employed because of the unemployment rate we have in South Africa. What I am truly happy about is the impact you made to decrease the unemployment statistic.

 Please keep on doing great things, keep creating opportunities. I want others to experience what I have and know that there are people/companies out there that are willing to put others needs before theirs.

THE BEST PREPARATION FOR TOMORROW IS DOING YOUR BEST TODAY.

Learn more about our 3-month human-centric curriculum, start building your career, with our support

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NOEL CARBUTTOUR HEARTBEAT

Vision without the pulse of an action is merely a dream. Vision with action can transform the world. Noel has an unspoken intuition for bringing the right hearted people together. Shadow Careers needs a beating heart to grow and connect the dots.

Noel’s heart lies in developing and leading organisations and its people to achieve their fullest potential, in a manner that creates harmony in value throughout the entire eco-system it finds itself in. A deeply purpose-led human, Noel qualified as a CA (SA) in 2003 through Deloitte, completing secondments for Deloitte in Australia and the United States. Noel was the Managing Director of Capita South Africa, having previously occupied the Finance Director position for three years. Noel was recognised by the industry body, BPeSA, as CEO of the year in 2019 and for creating the most jobs in the sector. Under his leadership, Capita South Africa was the fastest growing GBS company in South Africa for 2018 and 2019; under his tenure, the UK’s most recognised and trusted brands chose Capita South Africa to manage significant portions of their customer base. Noel was the Financial Controller of VISA’s mobile money acquisition in South Africa, Fundamo. He also headed up the finance function for a NASDAQ-listed ERP Company, QAD Inc. in South Africa and has worked in the HIV/AIDS research industry at the Kwa-Zulu Natal University Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine. Funds under his care were WHO, John Hopkins, PEPFAR and AACTG, amongst others.

 

JOHN ELLISOUR VOICE

John is the voice of Shadow. His ability to connect with people from all walks of life is what makes him respected and loved. John finds magic in the little things that in turn become the essence of the bigger picture.

John is a graduate in Human Environmental Sciences 2013 from the University of Alabama (USA) honours roll and holds an associate degree in International Business. A South African representative swimmer, John was a two-time KZN swimming captain, as well as captain at Alabama University. He is the director and co-founder of M&B Events, and has a philanthropic philosophy with a deep desire to help others. As the voice of Shadow Careers, John heads up the forefront of Shadow Career’s online presence, including on and offline marketing, social media and website management. 

EDWIN PIETERSENOUR MENTOR

Edwin is our Mentor. He is someone who teaches you to discover the hope inside yourself. Edwin is the representation of what a positive Shadow should aspire to be.

Edwin is a leadership altruist with a heart for empowering youth and children towards a future filled with possibilities. With a BComm, post graduate BPhil, ACC, PRINCE2 certified Project Manager and ICF Certified Leadership Coach qualification, Edwin has extensive experience in Organisational Development and Transformational Leadership. He is the former Regional Head of Operations (Eastern Europe, Middle-East and Africa) for BPO (Strategic Above-Market Procurement) servicing BAT and AB-InBev and has managed and led culturally diverse and geographically dispersed teams in both Moscow and Cape Town. He also has practical, in-country experience delivering projects in Kenya, Nigeria, Turkey, Seychelles, Ukraine, Russia, Egypt, Dubai, Zimbabwe and the UK. Edwin is the founder of The Greenchild Project – an accredited, certified private training academy focused on tertiary education and employment for Persons Living with Disabilities, as well as the founder of The Greenchild Foundation, an NPC aimed at enabling entrepreneurial, leadership and other interventions for previously disadvantaged children in the Western Cape.

ADJOA AYIVOROUR SPIRIT

Adjoa’s incredible energy introduces her before she even speaks. Adjoa is fearless, independent and positively infectious and that is why we refer to her as the our spirit of Shadow.

Adjoa is passionate about making a difference in South Africa and the African continent. A hands-on CFO and Qualified Chartered Accountant for over 14 years, Adjoa gained GBS experience as Finance Director at Capita SA, and was the CFO and an Executive Board member for the Sub-Saharan operations of NEC, a listed Japanese Tech Company. Here, she led the shared services function (Finance, IT, Legal, HR and back office admin) in four African countries. Adjoa is a member of IFRS professional practice group at EY, and has handled facilitation and product development within a training company. She worked at PwC within the Capital Markets Group, where she did IFRS accounting advisory work and completed her four articles. Adjoa has worked extensively throughout the rest of Africa, engaging with customers at an executive level. A non-executive director on the Board of the Democracy Works Foundation. Adjoa completed her MBA at Henley Business School. Her dissertation topic researched organisational values as she is passionate about assisting individuals, corporates and governments succeed and to make a real difference as they daily live by their values. Adjoa is a Financial Executive at Altron Bytes Managed Solutions.

FRANCO COTUMACCIOOUR HEART

Franco is the heart of Shadow. Franco’s compassion and dedication shines through every project he acquires. His ability to make everybody feel like a somebody is what makes him so loved and easy to work with. 

A few years after qualifying as a lawyer in 1986, Franco set up roots in the UK for a burgeoning spin-off of the South African business, BGL. In 2003, the company looked to offshore part of its UK business processes and became the first UK Contact Centre to set up in Cape Town, South Africa. Growing homesick during commutes, Franco returned to South African shores and set up his own business, Full Circle in 2007. With a long-standing vision to help alleviate unemployment levels in South Africa, Franco used this platform to position South Africa as the offshore destination for quality English speaking voice. Here, he indirectly assisted in creating thousands of jobs in the GBS sector. In 2012, Capita UK acquired Full Circle and Capita South Africa was established, with Franco heading up the business as MD until April 2018. In this time, Capita SA became one of the country’s leading GBS providers and a multi-award-winning company recognised for its role in job creation. Franco was equally recognised at the industry awards for job creation in 2019, the verbatim being: In recognition of over 15 years of commitment to the GBS sector in South Africa and for being one of the early pioneers, creating the first GBS jobs in Cape Town. His many years of service on the BPESA board have helped shape the industry and contributed to the creation of over 30,000 GBS jobs. In 2020 Franco created Shadow Careers. Dedicated to creating careers for young unemployed South Africans, Shadow Careers develops experience that sustainably equips youth for human-centric careers in the GBS sector.