Bridge the Gap: Youth Economic Freedom

Most people are concerned about the youth and their future. Especially when it comes to employment and how the youth of today are going to find economic opportunities tomorrow.

The youth, on the other hand, have economic expectations that seem, at the very least, challenging. The youth regularly use the phrase “economic freedom” to articulate their future expectation. Unfortunately, we often hear the term economic freedom in a negative sense. The reality is, however, that economic freedom of our youth is the one true imperative to ensure a secure and stable future for our city.

The youth are our future and we have an inherent responsibility to cultivate and develop them to build a future South Africa that we want to live in. Ekurhuleni is committed to creating a better economic future for our youth. This year we hosted the fourth Ekurhuleni Career Expo and Job Summit. As we celebrate Youth Month, we must acknowledge the harsh reality of unemployment that many young people are confronted with. Ekurhuleni has a 28 per cent unemployment rate and most of the unemployed are youth who are unsuccessfully attempting to access job and economic opportunities.

The Ekurhuleni two day career expo last week, was hosted once again at the Alberton Civic Centre. This was followed by a youth job summit at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg. Ekurhuleni presented a three-day interactive programme that provided young people with an opportunity to interact with various companies and explore economic opportunities. This event allows for youth development and economic integration, while at the same time awarding young people an opportunity to manage their own expectation around economic freedom. Economic freedom is our collective responsibility because prosperity is not limited a just one segment but it is our collective right.

I am hopeful that economic freedom is not just an idealistic dream but an achievable reality. It was especially encouraging to see how many young people in our community attended the summit and expo as a career guiding opportunity to identify how they can reach their full potential. The youth has a responsibility, not just to themselves but to the whole community to achieve economic freedom through education and dedication to a better life for all.

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