Meet Our Steering Committee Member: Nomzana Augustin

I've spent the last decade of my career funding and advancing systems that create equitable access to opportunities, especially through jobs and skills building. My interest in workforce development is because its core to building inclusive economies. WES has been an increasingly engaged partner of Workforce Matters over the years, and my excitement to join the Steering Committee came from witnessing the community of workforce funders the organization has built. I look forward to engaging energized, like-minded and passionate workforce funders, not only sharing WES' unique funding practices in this space but also seeking to learn ways in which we can collaborate with others to create opportunities that advance systemic change for society's most vulnerable and overlooked workers.

Work affects us all at some point in our lives and realizing that not everybody has access to work and if they do, it may not always be dignified or chosen work is what sparks my curiosities and passions. The systems that affect success and advancement in the workforce all depend on our education, opportunities, career resources, social capital, and more. Personally, it was education and workforce development opportunities that were made available to me and many members of my family that helped us survive, grow and advance our careers especially for me, as a foreign-born American. I've seen such opportunities close gaps for individuals and communities who may not traditionally have access, but do deserve choice to pursue income and work, which hopefully, eventually leads to financial security and freedom for them and their families. Our skills are used in trade for income, which is a major incentive to work. Why not create economic opportunities that allow everyone to have freedom of choice to do work in a way that's dignified or suits them best?

I was born and raised across Africa, and as a youth on the Continent, I look back and consider my first job being a DJ as a student in Cape Town. I love music and back then, I aspired to express that passion creatively but grew to realize how most academic experiences train us to enter the corporate workforce, which many of us become really good at learning and understanding that system, but only a few of us explore our creative endeavors full-time. As we shift into an AI-driven world where the traditional college-to-corporate pathways are predicted to be non-existent soon, I often wonder how schools will adapt to train and educate our young professionals of tomorrow on how to expand their career prospects and dreams into creative industries and entrepreneurship. These routes can be abstract and don't necessarily provide immediate security, but can potentially offer great returns and eventual security if well supported and resourced.

I'm looking forward to being a partner and an actively engaged member in the Workforce Matters community this year. WES has some planned partnership programs with the Workforce Matters team so I'm excited to collaborate with them, my fellow Steering Committee members, and the broader funder network to explore ways we can share learnings, elevate migrant worker voices, build worker power, and co-fund change together.