IN THE NEWS
City college hosts career expo
INITIATIVES on how to eradicate youth unemployment were discussed during a career expo which took place at the Northern Cape Urban TVET College in Kimberley. The expo was facilitated by the Northern Cape Department of Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), the Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College, the Health and Welfare Seta and other stakeholders.
The spokesperson for the GCIS, Ofentse Moeti, said that Friday’s event was prompted by the startling statistics of youth unemployment in the Province.
“The expo comes amid the results of the Stats SA Labour Force Survey, which shows that the rate of unemployment, especially of young people, has skyrocketed to 45 percent,” said Moeti.
“The expo also coincided with the commemoration of the life of Struggle icon, Oliver Tambo. It was held under the theme “The Year of OR Tambo – Advancing youth economic empowerment” to indicate Tambo’s love for a prosperous South Africa where everybody has equal opportunities.”
Moeti said that youths were on Friday afforded on-site information on how to advance their studies and also information on job opportunities.
“About 200 young people attended the event, where they were able to meet and interact with the stakeholders who were part of 20 exhibits at the expo. Young people were given information on bursaries, learnership, internship and skills programmes. Others were able to complete bursary application forms and submit on site. The interactive programme provided young people with an opportunity to interact with various stakeholders,” he said.
Moeti hailed the event as a major success.
“Four objectives were identified to measure the success of the expo – to compile a database of unemployed youth who attended the event for the purpose of referrals, interventions and impact assessment. The aim was to create awareness on government job creation and opportunities.
“The most important part of informing young people about the processes to follow in order to access information for their empowerment was also on the agenda.
“This event has left many young people with the tools and information on how to achieve their desired careers and how to identify the opportunities available,” Moeti said.