More youth grab job opportunities
Project gives hope to unemployed young people
APICTURE of former president Nelson Mandela standing with Isaac Nkwe hangs high up on the wall of a tiny reception room of an old building at the Cullinan Diamond Mine complex, east of Pretoria.
The building is home to Imfundiso Skills Development, an NGO that trains aspirant entrepreneurs in jewellery design and manufacturing.
Mandela, who was passionate about youth development, opened the training centre in 2001 when the mine was owned by De Beers. It’s now owned by Petra Diamonds, whose management has continued to provide support for the training initiative.
It is here that 150 young jewellers are learning the art, science, skill and business of beneficiating minerals such as copper, diamonds and gold. Nhlanhla Mahlangu, whose training is sponsored by the Gauteng government through the Gauteng City Region Academy, is one of them.
Mahlangu, 20, is in her second year of study and wants to be a maker and marketer of jewellery. Now that she has a clear vision for her life, she feels relieved and is focused on making it a reality. She is a living example of what South African leaders — from Mandela to Gauteng Premier David Makhura — would like to see.
There was a time when she was uncertain about her future. She had just completed a certificate in marketing management at Rosebank College and had no idea how to proceed.
With an unemployed mother and a retired father who sold vegetables to support her and her two siblings, life looked hazy. That was until she heard Nkwe, the project manager at Imfundiso, on Ikwekwezi FM talking about training of young people in jewellery making and the support provided by the Gauteng government and other stakeholders.
“I was looking for a job. I was bored. When I heard Nkwe speak on radio, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. I was interested in the crafting of jewellery but I didn’t know how to go about it,” she says.
Fortunately, Mahlangu’s interest and her immediate reaction to the opportunity came at a time when the Gauteng government was also looking for people like her as part of an initiative aimed at providing job opportunities for the youth.
“We have developed a partnership with Tshepo 500 000. Through the assistance of education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, who has his own part to play in creating opportunities for young people, we were able give young people like Mahlangu an opportunity to train,” says Nkwe.
In 2014, the Gauteng government launched the Tshepo 500 000 programme to provide skills training, entrepreneurship development, mentorship and job opportunities to 500 000 unemployed youth, women and people with disabilities.
Launched by Makhura, the flagship programme has, through active mobilisation of stakeholders, become a great success. Since its launch, it has reached 350 000 young people.
This translates to 95 000 permanent jobs in both the private and public sectors, 145 000 people trained for in-demand jobs and more than 15 000 young business owners supported through supplier development programmes.
A further 110 000 young people are in public employment schemes and other short-term contract opportunities. Mahlangu’s story illustrates that the successes Makhura often refers to are not just statistics: there are human beings whose lives have been changed for the better.
Through the initiative, the Gauteng government pays Mahlangu a stipend to keep young people learning the intricacies of beneficiation.
This initiative is an example of how the Gauteng government leverages partnerships with other stakeholders to tackle unemployment among the youth in the province.
Nkwe says among other contributors to Imfundiso are the Lottery Board and the Mining Sector Education and Training Authority. “This is a very important project because not only does it keep the young people busy, it also motivates them and instils a sense of confidence that, using their energies constructively, they can achieve a lot,” says Nkwe.
Mahlangu is already inspired and cannot wait to complete the full three-year programme. Nkwe says the programme is divided into three segments and trainees can exit at any point after completing any one of the three segments.
The first three-month segment offers training introductions to design, manufacturing and marketing. The second level, which stretches over 18 months, introduces trainees to the art of crafting and jewellery making. The third level is advanced and includes computer-aided design.
After the second level a trainee can make a wedding band, a bellybutton ring and earrings. For Mahlangu, who has already mastered the second-level skills, an early exit won’t work for her long-term plan. Thanks to the assistance provided by the Gauteng government, Mahlangu is motivated to complete the full programme.
On March 11, she attended an award ceremony where Makhura recognised the government’s partnerships with institutions such as Imfundiso. Mahlangu accompanied Nkwe, her mentor, to the ceremony. Is there anything she learned from it? “Definitely,” she says. “I was touched by what the premier said. He said parents should not judge their children, but we children must also work hard.”
Nkwe says Makhura is recognising the excellence of partnership with various sectors in the province. “It was a way of saying we should do more,” says Nkwe.
Mahlangu was thrilled when a team from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) visited Cullinan to provide trainees with an induction on starting businesses.
She is at pre-incubation stage with Seda and was even more inspired when her work, a three-piece torsade, was chosen to be exhibited among other South African products at a recent show in Japan.