Develop huge resource of youth

IF OUR children are to develop into successful students, effective leaders, productive workers and involved citizens, they need programmes that foster new skills, fuel self-confidence and encourage a sense of citizenship.

We need to invest in programmes that give young people the knowledge, skills and attitude they need and want, to become healthy and contributing members of the community.

We all recognise that high schools are our nation's front line in the battle to strengthen South Africa’s global competitiveness and we acknowledge that education leads to economic development.

We agree our youth are key resources, both for enhancing the quality of community life today and for building strong communities for the future.

Yet too many of them are dropping out of high school and too many high school graduates are unprepared for the demands of post-secondary education or for the 21st century workplace.

One of our biggest challenges as a province is that increasing numbers of young people are not completing high school and lack even the basic skills necessary to get and keep a self-supporting job.

This increasing group of disconnected youth, aged 15 to 24, presents a serious threat to our competitiveness as a government and as a region.

According to the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Review, there are 1 409 026 or 21% of people in the Eastern Cape aged between 16 and 24 years old.

And 76% of them are unemployed.

Also, a recent report from Statistics South Africa highlighted the premise that the economic competitiveness of the region rested on the foundation provided by the skills of our youth.

The above challenges are with us even though we know that a skilled, reliable workforce is always essential for the sustainable socio-economic development of our province – good jobs, safe communities, reduced crime, less poverty and stronger families. A prepared workforce is critical to a liveable community.

The provincial government is intensifying programmes towards youth development. We are working hard to implement a variety of apprenticeship and artisanship programmes that help foster lifelong development and encourage success and hard work.

Informed by our youth development strategy, a youth unit has been established in my office. The unit is helping the government in the coordination and implementation of the strategy, including coordinating other development initiatives driven by young people.

The unit is designed to give youth the confidence they need to contribute effectively by coordinating opportunities for them to act and take responsibility for their actions.

Our aim is also to prevent the initial occurrence of risky, dangerous and destructive behaviours that often lead to delinquency, teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, and drug use. Here are some programmes:

11 youth-owned agricultural co-operatives were launched in the Alfred Nzo, Amathole, OR Tambo and Sara Baartman districts. The Office of the Premier is providing training through the Tsolo and Rural Development Institute on cropping and animal farming, and farming resource capacitation with seedlings, fencing land and other inputs to start projects;

The provincial government is partnering with business and municipalities in an ambitious programme to see 10 000 unemployed youth at work by the end of this year;

So far, 264 young people have been trained in various disciplines in the “war on water leaks programme” from 2015. A further 842 are undergoing training on water-related artisan skills like plumbing;

More than 2 400 young people have undertaken accredited and non-accredited courses in various agriculture-related fields, while learnership programmes on crop and animal production were implemented to benefit outof-school youth;

The province is working with the South African Maritime Safety Authority to put 150 youth from disadvantaged communities through a gap year. It is programmed to, among others, create employment opportunities in the cruise line industry for disadvantaged youth and raise awareness of the maritime field as a viable career opportunity.

Our province is fortunate to have people and stakeholders such the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Felpex, OBD Engineering, and many others, who are committed to ensuring that both our youth have the skills and are prepared to work in jobs that are rapidly changing.

I encourage all of us to recognise our youth for who they are and what they stand for – an endless possibility for a better future.

Phumulo Masualle is Premier of the Eastern Cape