Inside Absa’s TXB Sales
Analyst Programme

When South Africa’s Class of 2022 graduated at the end of last year, they entered a harsh reality of 45% youth unemployment – largely due to lack of skills amongst the youth. In an environment like that, there’s an urgent need for both specialised and transferable skills.

Absa’s TXB Sales Analyst Programme is aligned to Absa’s commitment to become an employer of choice for Gen Z talent, as well as being a force for good in terms of our citizenship activities. This will comprise of 15 Analysts selected from different institutions and will run for a period of 12 months. During the 12 months period the Analysts will receive both formal qualification and exposure to the Transactional Banking Sales Environment.

The Trailblazer Sales Analyst Programme aims to solve the youth unemployment rate due to lack of skills by giving Analysts a year-long deep-dive into the transactional banking world, with a specific focus on sales and by also enrolling them in a formal banking qualification which will allow the Analysts to receive both a recognised formal qualification and understanding of the Absa TXB sales business.

“Transactional Banking is an ideal environment for new Analysts to learn the banking trade.  We have many sales areas in our environment, from cash management corporate sales to trade and working capital corporate sales, financial institutions sales, and so on,” says John Molanda, Head of Transactional Banking Sales at Absa CIB. “Transactional banking plays a pivotal role in banking, as it deals with everyday issues and solutions for our corporate clients.”

The Analysts will be assigned to one of the abovementioned business areas for six months at a time. The idea, Molanda says, is that the longer stay will provide deeper learning opportunities than monthly rotations might.

“The landscape of work is changing, and we want to be deliberate about having more younger people in our organisation,” he says. “This programme enables us to upskill and assess these individuals in a meaningful way. From the bank’s point of view, it’s a lot like a year-long job interview. So, we’re enhancing our pool of recruits, while at the same time building a pool of sales talent. Absa has a responsibility to build that capability and that talent pipeline – for ourselves as an organisation and also for the broader market”

And for South Africa’s youth, too. “At 66%, youth unemployment is higher than the national average of 33%,” Molanda concludes. “For the growth and sustainability of our economy, we must find solutions. One of these is ensuring that we prioritise the placement of graduates into the work environment.”