Career expo to create jobs, grow businesses

The City of Cape Town’s social development and early childhood development department held the final in a series of career expos for this year at the Belhar Indoor Sports Complex on Saturday.

The event, which drew more than 1 000 young people from across the city, gave visitors the opportunity to network with city departments.

External exhibitors focused on topics that could impact their career choices, mayoral committee member for safety and security and social services JP Smith said.

Exhibitors included city departments, business support organisations, academia, further education and training (FET) colleges, interactive community resource centres, and the Western Cape education department.

The expo, the last in a series of eight across the city, gave unemployed young people the opportunity to network and learn more about the various career possibilities available to them. It also put them in direct contact with tertiary institutions and prospective employers.

The more than 100 city staff, exhibitors and youth development programme facilitators ran interactive, fun and informative sessions throughout the day.

“The opportunities presented to you at this expo form only a small part of introducing you to career opportunities available and helping you to get ready for the working world,” Smith told youth at the expo.

“I want you to remember how important this expo was in directing your choices and life, how important your school was in preparing you for further education and work, and how important the support of your family was.

“This is so that whatever career you end up in you will do your best to ensure the next generation have the same and better access to education, career advice, and most importantly, work.”

Smith also said the expo formed part of the city’s goal to make it easier to create and grow businesses.

“We want to make it easier to find employment. One of the goals of the city’s organisational development and transformation plan is to provide access to economic opportunities. Here you can gain insight into possible careers and identify the skills for your chosen profession.

“Many young people are not only unaware of the available employment opportunities, but they also don’t know how to access these opportunities. Expos like this are where you make those connections and find your path to a career enabling you to become an economically productive member of society,” Smith said.

The city plans to continue bringing these services to the youth through its expos, which focused on people aged between 14 and 25.

Support would also be provided to those wanting to start their own businesses. The youth would be afforded the opportunity to develop their skills in communication, self-presentation, and networking. – ANA