Mentorship tackles joblessness among youth
Mashobane Training and Mentorship Academy offers career journey guidance
A mentorship programme seeking to fight the scourge of unemployment is taking young people under its wing for guidance and support.
Unemployment in the country continues to plague young people, accounting for 42.1% of those aged between 24 and 34 being without jobs.
This is a shocking statistic that the founder of Mashobane Training and Mentorship Academy, Anastasia Machobane, hopes to change.
The academy comprises a group of professionals who each adopt a mentee and assist with their career journey.
“Mentorship for me is a journey that someone with experience gives to someone without experience and assists them through the path of life. It can be assisting them to decide on career choices and how to cope with pressure that comes with their school work, it could be emotional support or financial support,” said Machobane.
“And with youngsters already in the workplace, it is to help them deal with issues such as the imposter syndrome, one of the areas that most people struggle with.”
Mentors include engineers, nuclear scientists, advocates, academics, company secretaries, scientists, chartered accountants, among other professionals. “It was purely a coincidence that the programme started off being founded and led by a female, however, more males are taking on the task. As much as we have strong belief in women empowerment, we also believe in positive masculinity where the boy child should not be forgotten.
“Males should not be intimidated when working with women, even in instances where they must report to a female boss,” Machobane said.
The project is now registered as a company, which serves as the CSI project of Mashobane Advisory Services.
While the programme assists grade 11 and 12 pupils, doors are open to people of all ages who need it, she said.
She shared a few success stories, one of which is Shatadi Maake who she took under her wing while in high school.
“Shatadi’s mom was working for the cleaning company where I was group compliance officer. I supported and guided Shatadi, who was a straight A student from high school and I continued to do so through university. She graduated from University of Johannesburg this year with a BCom accounting degree and is now studying for her honours.
“She also received an internship at one of the big five accounting firms and her ultimate goal is to be a chartered accountant and I will be there all the way.”
Another is Lwazi Madikane, who recently completed his national diploma in law (paralegal studies) at UJ with a distinction. “He became a mentee in 2021. An opportunity for an intern opened in our company this year and we offered the position to him as he proved to be an extremely enthusiastic person. His ultimate goal is to be a lawyer.”
Libraries with computers and Wi-Fi have been created for mentees to access, especially when applying for jobs.
“…We share opportunities on a daily basis …and it is really up to them to put through their applications and reach out to us to assist them.”
Email mentorship@mashobane.com or send a WhatsApp to 065-660-0060.
sibiyan@sowetan.co.za