Retail Group Botswana today inducted Batswana graduates into its first Youth Employment Service (YES) programme, opening a 12-month paid learnership designed to help unemployed young people gain practical work experience. Launched at Sebele Lifestyle Office Park, the programme includes 20 young people with disabilities, reflecting a deliberate commitment to widen access to workplace opportunities.
The learners will gain experience in office, administration and restaurant environments, working alongside experienced teams and managers. Through structured training, mentorship and day-to-day responsibilities, the programme aims to help them apply their qualifications, develop workplace skills and build a stronger foundation for their careers.
The need for such opportunities is reflected in Statistics Botswana’s preliminary labour force results from the Botswana Multi-Topic Household Survey 2024/25. The survey estimated unemployment among youth aged 15–35 at 28.9%, up from 25.1% in 2015/16. It also found that 37.1% of youth were not in education, employment or training, highlighting the need for pathways that connect young people to learning and work.
For graduates seeking their first opportunity, the programme addresses a familiar obstacle: employers require experience, but gaining that experience depends on being given a chance to work.
“For the next twelve months, our learners will not be observers. They will be part of our teams,” said Rudolph de Wet, Managing Director of Retail Group Botswana. “They will serve customers, work alongside managers, learn our systems, solve real problems and carry real responsibility.”
Inclusion began at the recruitment stage. Retail Group worked with the Disability Coordination Office in the Ministry of the State President, to reach young people who might not have been accessing its usual recruitment channels. Candidates went through an interview process that considered their skills, the requirements of available roles and the support they would need in the workplace.
Wazha Letsamao, Head of Human Resources at Retail Group, said the process had helped the business understand individual needs and plan suitable departmental placements, tools and working environments. The programme will also help the company learn how to improve its practices and accommodate employees with disabilities more effectively over time.
The approach makes diversity and inclusion part of how the learnership is delivered throughout the year. Alongside developing the learners’ skills, Retail Group intends to examine how it trains, supports and creates working environments for its people.
“You were selected on merit, and we expect the same excellence from you as from everyone else. Our commitment is to make sure you have what you need to deliver it,” de Wet said in his welcome remarks to the learners with disabilities.
The launch also marks YES’s first expansion outside South Africa, according to representatives of YES and Retail Group. Tsholo Mogotsi, representing YES, said the partnership with Famous Brands provided a route into Botswana, with the retail sector offering both entry-level work experience and opportunities for longer-term career development.
“YES provides young people with that very first job that can become the foundation of a career,” Mogotsi said.
Retail Group, a subsidiary of Famous Brands, brings a range of food-service operations and workplace learning environments to the partnership. Learner hosts include Retail Group teams, Team Agencies and Wimpy franchise partners.
The business also highlighted career progression within its own teams. Dineo Jabulani joined as a part-time employee in 2006 and became Call Centre Manager in 2024, while Isaac Ranonyana began as a barista in 2008 and was appointed National Training Manager in 2025, a role he currently holds. Their careers illustrate the opportunities that sustained learning and development can create in the sector.
Retail Group intends to build on this first intake and support learners’ transition into employment after the programme. Its ambition is to offer permanent opportunities where possible within the business, while helping other participants pursue roles through strategic partners and the wider employment market.
“We definitely hope that this is not the first and the last, but the first of many years of being able to run this programme,” de Wet said.
