AmaQwathi clan embarks on vocational skills training in Ngcobo

The AmaQwathi traditional council, which rules over Ngcobo, has teamed up with the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) and the Eastern Cape department of education to establish a mini centre to develop artisan skills among the youth in the area.

The partnership will culminate in the construction of a cultural village where young people will be afforded an opportunity to display and sell their crafts for a profit. This was revealed by the royal family and Seta bosses during a career exhibition organised by the two at the AmaQwathi Great Place in Nkondlo, about 20km outside the town of Ngcobo.

AmaQwathi council head Nkosi Zwelakhe Dalasile’s spokesperson Prince Dabulingwe Ndzima said the dropout rate among pupils in Ngcobo was very high which prompted the royal family to research what could be done to address the situation.

“We had to devise ways for children who are uneducated,” he said. “The problem was that even those who dropped out of school before matric, left school without any form of skill which could help them sustain themselves,” said Ndzima.

“But now in partnership with the Seta, those that are unable to continue with education can be taught skills like brick laying and coffin making.”

On the career exhibition, which attracted hundreds of Grade 7 to 12 pupils from across Ngcobo, Ndzima said the initiative was designed to help pupils choose the correct subject combinations at school.

Bulelani Nyholo, a Grade 12 pupil at Nyanga Senior Secondary, praised the initiative saying many school children lacked proper career guidance.

“Initially I wanted to be a doctor but last year I changed my mind and now I want to be pharmacist. I now know what subjects to study to achieve that goal,” Nyholo said.

Services Seta CEO Amanda Buzo-Gqoboka urged pupils and the youth around Ngcobo to take advantage of the opportunities that would be created through the partnership with the royal family.

She said many young people continued to leave Ngcobo in search of greener pastures in the urban cities like Johannesburg. But sometimes they find the going very tough there. The partnership with AmaQwathi will ensure that young people are encouraged to explore their entrepreneurial side.

She said after being approached by the royal family, they did research on what skills development programmes would work for Ngcobo.

Co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC Fikile Xasa, who filled in for education MEC Mandla Makupula at the exhibition, told young people that when the ANC took over power, it had a vision of an educated nation.

“You are the future of this country, but you have to be educated,” he said, while praising the royal family for the initiative.

He said it was an important example of how traditional leaders could lead in the development of their areas.