Pupils learn the tricks of trades
Matrics in rural Zululand get lessons in career options at Career and Skills EXPO.
ASPIRING youngsters from Nongoma and Mahlabathini thoroughly enjoyed learning more about what could be in store for them in their future careers a Career and Skills Expo held last week.
Hosted by the Zululand Anthracite Colliery (ZAC) mine and the Department of Labour, representatives said school leavers in deep rural areas are often overlooked when information sessions are hosted.
‘It is very important that ZAC, parents and the youth themselves play a role in ensuring they are aware of the opportunities available to them to uplift their lives,’ said ZAC Managing Director Niels Kristensen.
‘Although ZAC does have bursary and in-house-training schemes that do a lot for skills development, it cannot accommodate everyone in the community.
‘Our company employs around 1 300 people, of which about one thousand come from the communities in which ZAC operates.
‘The remaining 300 are from outside the area as they have specialised skills.
‘It is for this reason that we sponsor the Career and Skills Expo day and involve other organisations to bring information to our school leavers.
‘In this way, we can work together in improving skills development for our local communities.’
ZAC Sustainable Development Manager, Zodwa Ntuli, said the success of the EXPO highlighted the need for local teenagers to learn more about suitable professions that would brighten their futures.
‘It is wonderful to see so many young people keen to find out how they can develop their skills and we are pleased that a number of government organisations have supported us in this project.
‘The timing of our event was also perfect as the closing date for many bursary and scholarship applications is September and most of our exhibitors ran out of application forms and left at the end of the day with long lists of potential candidates for their various study programmes,’ Ntuli said.
