The Alex Youth Advisory Centre has asked last year’s matriculants who don’t have financial and other support to further their educational, technical and vocational training to register with the centre.
This is to help them access bursaries and to register for internships and leaderships. Mush Raletjena of the centre, said they have bursary commitments from the Motsepe Foundation and Funza Lushaka programme from the department of education, and training opportunities from various entities. He urged prospective beneficiaries not to delay as deadlines are strict and positions limited.
Reletjena said the centre has, since its inception three years ago, made an impact on youth support. This includes processing 81 applications for the City of Joburg-sponsored bursaries for university, nursing and other technical studies, short listing applications for financial internships at Nedbank for those with above 50 percent passes in maths and science, 60 for employment assessment at Domino’s Pizza, 87 for two-year cleaning contract jobs at Transnet, 400 attachment jobs for 12 months with Pikitup, 20 learnership opportunities with an insurance company, three learnerships with the department of education and guided 547 youths to other work opportunities.
He urged those still at school in the lower grades not to relent in their education in order to get the good results wanted by support agencies. He also advised out-of-school youths not to be despondent when turned down for job opportunities.
“Commit to school and leave the rest to us,” he said.
He outlined the following as part of their 2016 activities:
- Processing online, applications for university registration and financial support
- Work readiness training in partnership with Art Smart Brand, an arts organisation
- School database drive to register disabled children and those who feel discriminated from opportunities
- Young women’s support workshops and seminars to empower girls
- Career expos in the police service and the army
- Arts festival and arts awards celebration to expose and acknowledge talented youths
- Youth motivation through a students’ memorial lecture
- E-learning workshop on life skills, entrepreneurship, maths literacy and English
- Youth NGO initiative support workshop
- Breast cancer and other health awareness workshops.
Details: Youth Advisory Centre, Thusong Multi Purpose Centre, 8th Avenue, Alexandra
