The Vodafone digital skills and jobs initiative is the largest of its kind in the world.

Vodafone has also announced plans for a significant increase in the number of young people brought into the company to gain direct experience of the digital workplace. Vodafone will expand its existing graduate, apprenticeship, internship and work experience schemes worldwide to reach a total of up to 100,000 young people worldwide by 2022.

The two initiatives were announced as Vodafone published the results of a major international public opinion survey revealing the extent to which young adults, aged 18-24, believe they are ill-equipped to participate in the digital economy, despite being the first generation to be “born digital”.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that more than 200 million young people are either unemployed or have a job but live in poverty. In many of the countries in which Vodafone operates, including Ghana, youth unemployment is at record levels. Previous studies have found that a prolonged period of unemployment shortly after a young person leaves school to enter the workforce, can have a lifelong negative effect on individual confidence, self-esteem and wellbeing.

Commenting, Yolanda Cuba, Chief Executive of Vodafone Ghana said:

“The needs of this new age are unique and complex. The workplace of the future requires a human resource equipped with a new mind-set of winning. Our Digital Skills portal is a very timely tool to equip the youth with the necessary skills and know-how to embrace the increasing demands of the world of work. Over time, every workplace will go digital, creating accelerating demand for a wide range of specialist technology skills. We want to help connect the new generation to the new world of work.”

Paradoxically, unemployment among young people is rising just as businesses of all types and sizes are struggling to fill a wide range of digital technology roles that are critical for future growth.

A recent report commissioned by the Ghana Statistical Service revealed that more than 1.2 million persons from 15 years and older are unemployed in Ghana.

Getting young people into work
Over the last year, Vodafone has worked with specialist psychologists, careers advisers and training providers to develop a smartphone-based service – called the Future Jobs Finder (https://futurejobsfinder.vodafone.com/) – that offers young people a simple but comprehensive gateway to new skills and opportunities for employment in the digital economy.

The first step in the Future Jobs Finder is a series of quick psychometric tests designed to identify each individual’s aptitudes and interests and then map these to the most appropriate job category in the digital economy. In the second step, the individual is directed to specific job opportunities in their chosen location, including opportunities with Vodafone.

Users can also access relevant online digital skills training providers, with many of these courses available for free. On completing the tests, users also receive a summary of their skills and interests that can be used on their C.V. or in a job application.

Getting young people into Vodafone
As a leading technology company, Vodafone has a strong employer brand recognised by young people. In each of the 26 countries in which Vodafone operates, there are well-established graduate, apprenticeship and internship schemes as well as a wide range of work experience opportunities including coding classes for high school girls.

Over the next five years, Vodafone will double the number of opportunities offered to under-25s to experience the world of work, reaching a total of 100,000.

This represents the largest commitment to training and development of young people since the founding of Vodafone 33 years ago.

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Source: Vodafone Ghana

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The new shop, which was unveiled at a brief ceremony, has been re-designed to meet Vodafone’s global retail standards.  It is equipped with a state of the art café providing high-speed internet connectivity, large retail space, a live experience zone to enable customers engage devices and an enterprise customers’ lounge with video conferencing facilities to serve enterprise and corporate customers in a seamless fashion.

Speaking on the new facility, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Vodafone Ghana, Yolanda Cuba said;

“As a global brand with footprints all over the world, one of the drivers of our growth has been our focus on delivering unmatched customer experience across all key touchpoints. Our presence in Tamale today is a sign of that commitment.”

“The unveiling of this new retail shop is certainly a proud moment for us – it further demonstrates our relentless obsession with our customers – to continue to provide them with the tools necessary to make their lives easier, wealthier and progressive.”

The CEO added that the new facility will empower the residents to navigate the future of technology with certainty.

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Source: Vodafone Ghana

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With this extension, Vodafone Cash subscribers can share the same value of purchased airtime with their friends and loved ones, whilst they enjoy the full benefit of the top-up, throughout January 2018.

Speaking on the promotion, Director of Vodafone Cash, Martison Obeng-Agyei said;

‘’We know January is the most difficult month financially for many and we want to lessen the impact it has on our customers. This promotion which has been running since November last year, further demonstrates that we are serious about giving our customers true value. ‘’

“When you purchase airtime on Vodafone Cash, we send you a PIN via SMS which you can send to five other Vodafone customers to also recharge. All they need to do, is to dial *135* PIN # to load the airtime‘’ he added.

Vodafone Ekiki Mi is one of the innovations the telecommunications giant introduced last year to reward its customers across the country.

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Source: Vodafone Ghana

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The refreshed Supreme Value offers customers 1000 minutes to call Vodafone numbers, 100 minutes to call other networks. 400 MB to browse the internet, and double bonus on every recharge at Ghc 11.99 a month.

Supreme Value offer, which is one of Vodafone Ghana’s most successful bundles, has been enhanced to offer customers more data and minutes to stay connected with their loved ones across all networks.

Speaking on the modified service, Yolanda Cuba, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Ghana said;

“At Vodafone Ghana, we are well noted for delivering innovative and customer-oriented products that Ghanaians love. This is because we devote significant attention to customer insights and our Supreme Value offer has been modified with our customers in mind.’’

‘Switch to the network that offers real value, if you are not a Vodafone customer. You can get a Vodafone SIM today or port your number to Vodafone to begin to enjoy all the benefits.’’ she added.

Vodafone customers who wish to subscribe to the Vodafone Supreme Value offer should dial *7070# to subscribe to the offer. Alternatively customers can call 7070 and follow the voice prompt to subscribe to the offer.

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Source: Vodafone Ghana

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In April, Vodafone introduced new international roaming charges for 60 countries outside the European Union, and told customers via text message.

Ofcom said it had “intervened” because it had “concerns about the clarity of that text message”.

In a statement, Vodafone said its customers “like” its products.

Vodafone’s Roam Further charges, introduced in 2017, mean customers on a monthly contract are charged a flat fee of £6 per day to use their phone in 60 countries including the US, Canada and Russia.

The changes mean customers will be charged the flat £6 fee even if they only send one text message.

Previously customers were charged for their usage and fees varied between countries.

‘Bill shock’

Ofcom considered that light users would be more affected by the changes because “they could no longer send texts, make calls or use data on a ‘pay-per-use’ basis'”.

Mobile phone networks must give customers 30 days’ notice of any contract changes likely to be of “material detriment”, and must let customers end their contracts without penalty if they do not agree to the changes.

Some customers had complained and Ofcom said it was concerned that Vodafone’s communication had not been clear.

It said right to exit information should be provided “in the main body of the text or email” rather than linking to a separate webpage as Vodafone had done.

In response to Ofcom’s concerns, Vodafone sent another message to affected customers and gave them a further 30 days to leave their contract.

It said it had identified 55,000 customers who were likely to face “material detriment” following the introduction of the new charges.

In a statement, Vodafone said Roam Further “removes the fear of bill shock”.

“We took on board Ofcom’s views about notifications and will be sure to follow them,” it said.

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Source: BBC

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The New Year School is an annual event of the University of Ghana, which provides a common platform for academicians, corporate executives and other professionals to deliberate on issues of national interest.

Yolanda will be speaking on the sub-theme, “Innovative Financial Services for Business and SME development” – and will throw light on how telecommunication companies have used financial services to create jobs in the country.

Since her assumption as CEO of Vodafone Ghana, Yolanda’s influence has been very phenomenal. Over the past year, she has succeeded in creating an admirable brand whilst her governance skills have been fundamental in strengthening the Telecommunications Chamber, of which she is the current Chairperson.

Commenting ahead of the programme, Yolanda said: “I am certainly delighted to be a key part of setting a good tone for the country’s strategic development agenda for next year. Our industry is at the core of Ghana’s socio-economic transformation, and I’m certainly looking forward to sharing insights that will hopefully contribute to a better economy.”

Yolanda’s achievements within her short period in Ghana has also led to several individual accolades including, Industry Personality of the Year (Ghana Information Technology and Telecoms Award), Most Outstanding Telecommunications Executive Award (Feminine Achievement Awards) and Top 50 Corporate Women Leaders in Ghana (WomanRising Magazine).

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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In 1992, Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old software programmer, sent the first ever text message from a computer to his colleague Richard Jarvis. Papworth had been working as a developer and test engineer to create a Short Message Service (SMS) for his client, Vodafone. That very first text, sent on the 3rd December 1992, simply said ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’.

In 1999, seven years after Neil Papworth’s first SMS message, Vodafone was already leading an innovation to ensure texts could finally be exchanged on multiple networks, propelling them into greater popularity than ever before. Today, ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ messages are now sent by millions all over the world using texts, videos and emojis. Marking the 25th anniversary since the first text, Papworth has imagined a more modern version of his 1992 Christmas message, this time using emoji’s.

“In 1992, I had no idea just how popular texting would become, and that this would give rise to emojis and messaging apps used by millions. I only recently told my children that I sent that first text. Looking back with hindsight, it’s clearer to see that the Christmas message I sent was a pivotal moment in mobile history,” Papworth said.

Marking the anniversary, Chief Executive of Vodafone Ghana, Yolanda Cuba said:

“Little did we know that a global transformation was about to take over the world when that text message went through. The need to connect with each other has been intrinsic since creation and now Vodafone is proud to be leading the way in harnessing more innovative ways to ensure this connection is made easy. The future of technology is exciting and our customers can count on us to help them navigate through it with confidence and optimism.”

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Source: Vodafone

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Dubbed “Vodafone VIM”, they were taught ‘T’-shirt printing, beauty, fashion, décor, baking, juice and cocktail and soap making.

At the end of their training, they received hair dryers, sewing machines, make-up kits, soap cutters and gas cookers.

Mrs. Regina Ofori, the Marketing Supervisor – Consumer Segment, said more than GH₵65,000.00 had been pumped into scholarship award and supply of start-up tools.

The goal is to assist empower the unemployed youth economically to make their lives meaningful to society.

She was speaking at a ceremony held in Kumasi to present scholarship and start-up kits to the first batch of trainees from across the country.

Mrs. Ofori indicated that the “Vodafone VIM” had been designed to open the door of opportunity to the youth to live their dreams.

“The product affords the subscriber a weekly video tutorial on their selected course – be it ‘T’-shirt printing, soap making, beauty, fashion, baking and juice making, or décor.”

She said seven outstanding people had been awarded scholarship to undergo professional training in recognized institutions including Forever Clear (FC) Beauty College, Cake Tekniks International and Joyce Ababio College of Creative Design.

They are Midim Nutornutsi, Michael Ameyaw, Samuel Dadzie, Sandra Tetteh, Grace Doku, Eli Ama Dzigbeduvor and Andrianu Twum.

Mrs. Ofori said after their training all the seven would be provided with the relevant tools and equipment to set up their businesses.

She encouraged more of the company’s customers, particularly, the youth to subscribe to the platform to learn a trade to lift themselves out of poverty.

Grace Doku, a beneficiary, applauded Vodafone for the initiative and said it was a step in the right direction.

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Source: Vodafone Ghan

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Yolanda was awarded a Global Impact Leadership Award at the just ended International Conference on Gender and Sustainability (ICOGAS) in New York. This award was to highlight her unrelenting efforts at promoting leadership excellence and sustainability in the telecoms sector.

Earlier this year, she was also recognised as one of the 50 prominent women leaders in Africa who are changing the face of finance, technology and several industries, by The Africa Report.

Commenting after receiving the award, Yolanda said:

“I am delighted to be recognised internationally for the collective work we’re doing in Vodafone Ghana. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, it is said, but with such a strong leadership team and enterprising employees, I am confident we will continue to execute our strategy to perfection and position Vodafone Ghana as the industry leader.”

The International Conference on Gender and Sustainability (ICOGAS) is organised by the Center for Economic and Leadership Development. Its core mandate is to bring true and enduring empowerment to women at various levels, circumstances, cultures and tribes; whilst re-defining the theory and practice of inclusive leadership and education.

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Source: Vodafone Ghana

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The Telecoms giant’s customer rewards programme, Yee Twi Kor, also won the best TV Advert of the Year and Press Advert of the Year, during the event held in Ghana’s capital, Accra.

Healthline TV, which has over the years amassed several awards both local and international, becomes the only TV programme to win this category four times over a seven-year period – 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Commenting on the awards, Agnes Emefa Essah, Sales and Marketing Director at Vodafone Ghana said:

‘It is truly a great honour to receive these three awards from CIMG. Our dominance over the years demonstrates our consistency and commitment to excellence as a telecommunication company. We dedicate these awards to the millions of Ghanaians who have wholeheartedly embraced Healthline as a household initiative and to all the patients we have touched over the period. We recognise there’s still work to be done and we will not rest on our laurels in using technology to make that difference’’

Healthline TV continues to transform lives across the country through its quality education on television and its life-changing surgeries for financially-challenged Ghanaians.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) awards are designed to create awareness of the Marketing concept in businesses and sustainability and to promote high professional standards and excellence among practitioners.

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Source: Vodafone Ghana

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