Learners taught valuable lessons at Kids Haven career expo
Institutions such as Ekurhuleni Agricultural College, Dotdigital and Avon were present at the expo.
Deloitte’s Ryan Bennett warned learners at the Kids Haven career expo on October 22 against scammers who often pose as big corporates or university representatives to hide their fraudulent activities.
As matriculants look to make their next move, Bennett advised the learners to look for red flags such as unprofessional communication, emphasis on paying for the application and unprofessional contact details among others.
“Be aware,” he said.
“If you are applying to a university, job or anything and you are asked to pay for the application and there’s no guarantee of you getting that job or being accepted by the university, they are lying to you. They are trying to get your money. That’s how these scammers operate.
“There are companies set up to have fraudulent activities like that. They pose as big organisations that tell potential applicants they have to pay a certain fee for their application to be accepted.
“They then tell you that you have been accepted but then move to a new city and change their contact details,” Bennett said.
Beaming with excitement, children from the CBD and surrounding areas came en masse to the expo. They moved from station to station, elated with the valuable information they received from the different institutions in attendance.
Skills development centre, Work 4 A Living from Northmead, taught the children about their job readiness programme which is designed to equip those entering the work market with skills required in the workplace.
“We ran them through interviews, professionalism, financial literacy and anything they need to be ready for the workplace,” said the centre’s Honey Pakgadi.
Seventeen-year-old Sibusiso Ndlovhu from the Benoni CBD told the City Times he wants to become a motor mechanical engineer. He said he was pleased with the information he received.
“Events such as this are important because we don’t have the information we got here readily available. This will spark our passion and help us to know the careers we want to pursue,” he said.
Dustin Sithole (18) wants to become a lawyer. He said because of the information he received from Deloitte, he will now do thorough research before applying for a job or to a university.
“I was shocked to learn that we don’t necessarily have to pay for any application. No one will scam me,” Sithole said.
Kids Haven’s teen hub coordinator, Tshepo Brand, was pleased with the turnout. He said the event aimed to equip the children with information to make informed career choices.
“We wanted to give an opportunity to children to know what’s out there. There are not a lot of events of this nature in the City of Ekurhuleni. The idea is to get them to get as much information as possible so that they make sound career choices,” Brand said.
Also Read: #Youthmonth: Tshepo Brand is trailblazing a better future for the youth
Also Read: Kids Haven Teen Hub is open
