Lifeline for youth, by reducing unemployment

TSHEPO ONE MILLION: PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT EXPANDS PROJECT

Started in 2015 as Tshepo 500 000, it will now reach double the number.

The Gauteng provincial government’s expanded Tshepo One Million programme aims to reduce unemployment, boost entrepreneurship and deal with other problems affecting youth in the province.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura said: “In Gauteng, there are close to two million young people who are not in employment, education or training.

Some of them are on the verge of losing hope while others have drifted into crime and other social ills, such as drug and substance abuse.”

The programme was initially started in 2015 as Tshepo 500 000 and has reached nearly 460 000 young people.

This has encouraged the government to expand it into a massive intervention aiming to reach at least one million young people living in Gauteng, Makhura said.

Through the youth skills empowerment initiative, the government hopes to restore hope to young people by providing skills training, job placement and entrepreneurship development.

Makhura defined it as an “intervention to open opportunities with regards to demand-led skills development, job placement and entrepreneurship for the youth of Gauteng”.

The Gauteng government has formed “groundbreaking” partnerships with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator and other major private sector corporate companies such as Microsoft, Coca Cola, First National Bank (FNB) and others.

“The call by President Ramaphosa to place unemployed youth in paid internships in companies across the economy will inject momentum into the work we are already doing with Tshepo One Million.

“We can get more companies to lend a hand and give our youth a chance,” said Makhura.

Regenesys Business School, through its foundation, is one of the private companies assisting the project.

Chief operations officer Leoni Grobler said the intention behind the institution’s involvement was to create access to information for people who want to own busi- nesses but can’t because they lack knowledge of the basics.

“It’s our priority to promote free access to information to enable young people to learn about entrepreneurship and set up their own businesses.”

“In Gauteng, there are close to two million young people who are not in employment, education or training. Some of them are on the verge of losing hope while others have drifted into crime and other social ills, such as drug and substance abuse.” Gauteng Premier David Makhura, in his State of the Province address.