With 59 Hilton hotels due to open in Africa and the Middle East in the next four years, Hilton Worldwide estimates it will need 23,000 new staff, and the hotel chain is targeting South African youth for jobs, according to a report in SouthAfrica.info.

The company has launched a training program to help create sustainable careers in the industry for young South Africans as part of its global Youth in Hospitality initiative.

South Africa has about 25 percent unemployment, with some estimates showing 50 percent of its youth are unemployed or unemployable. Half of 18-to-24-year-olds have insufficient education, training or employment, with many leaving school without any qualifications, according to a report in SOS Childrens’ Villages.

Hilton Sandton in Johannesburg has partnered with hotel schools and wants to employ some students as permanent employees, the report says.

Read more at SouthAfrica.info.