Career knowledge brought to local learners

The Morongwa Foundation recently hosted the My Career My Destiny Career Expo at Maphutha Secondary School.

The expo brought together institutions and organisations, including the departments of Higher Education and Training, Correctional Services, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, EdForAll, Bidvest Services, Regent Business School and many more.

The founder and CEO of the foundation, Nkagare Makhudu, said the event aimed to create a network of career-focused and employable young people.

To do that, the event empowered high school learners from under-resourced schools to make informed career choices with the ultimate goal of addressing the high rate of youth unemployment.

“The event was the second of our series of career-focused expos,” said Makhudu.

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He said he hoped earners would have attained the necessary tools to make informed career choices, which would further equip them to be more employable.

Makhudu said that events of this nature were critical in laying a foundation for learners, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

“The Morongwa Foundation is geared towards creating a 4IR-ready future workforce, and it starts in our public schools,” he said.

He told The Thembisan that the career expo brought institutions of higher learning and corporates right to the doorstep of an under-resourced child who would have used their last cent to buy data to apply for varsity or even took a taxi to visit an institution of their choice.

In addition, Makhudu said it further created an opportunity for learners to receive a real-time response to their career-related questions.

The deputy principal of Maphutha Secondary School, SMM Mailula, said the expo was a great event, and she hoped such events would happen annually so that learners were exposed to different careers.

“As the school, we needed this event. We heard from various companies that contributed much knowledge to learners,” she said.

The Leflore Wellness Clinic COE and founder, Sister Lebo, said her organisation was at the event to give learners information about the importance of making the right decision at a young age.

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“It’s important for young people to make the right choices at a young age,” she said.

Learners said the event helped them and contributed to their career choices because most were worried about which career to choose after high school.

Simphiwe Motlokoa told learners education was everything and that there were no shortcuts in life.

Vox pop question:

The Thembisan asked the learners at Maphutha Secondary School what they had learnt at the Career Expo. Here’s what they said:

Alungile Nqenqa

“I learnt to choose my career wisely and what I would like to do. I must work hard to qualify for what I want to study in varsity.”

Kelvin Maravani

“I had a good experience. I learnt that there are so many careers to choose from. I thank the school and the principal for allowing this event to happen at our school because I learnt a lot of things, especially in the faculty of technology.”

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Likhona Mpalweni

“I learnt that I must work hard to qualify for different learning institutions. I also learnt the importance of making the right choices at a younger age.”

Anathi Nthoba

“I learnt it is important for me to choose a career wisely and know what to do in the coming years, as well as to start making the right choices now to have nothing to regret later.”

Lefa Mosima Maponya

“I learnt that the career world is wide and that challenges come with each career.”

Gift Mabaso

“I learnt that being a nurse means working hard, and things are only simple if you are more qualified, meaning I have to work hard to obtain good marks to help me qualify.”