Bright future for youth and women in tourism

The Imbizo was held at Ebutsini Cultural Village on Tuesday October 26. “Women empowerment remains high on our development agenda.

The programme is meant to create a pool which employers can tap into to close the gap of African women in executive management positions in the sector. Ultimately it is to prepare them for board and shareholder responsibilities in the higher echelons of a transformed tourism industry. We seek to build and achieve 30% representation of women in leadership and ownership levels in the next five years,” Mahlalela said.

“Youth should remain beneficiaries of our Bright future for youth and women in tourism Nothando Makhubela initiatives. We have implemented a training programme in giving learners industry accredited qualifications which exposes them to the work environment and prepares them for a career in tourism,” he said.

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“The training programme includes hospitality youth, national tourism monitors, national youth chefs, wine service youth, food safety and a tourist guiding youth programme,” he added. Mkhatshwa pointed out that Covid-19 has indeed affected the tourism sector but it aimed to continue without failure.

“We must remember that we are still under level 1 of the national state of disaster brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. These are the challenging circumstances for humankind as defined by this pandemic which has wreaked havoc in the tourism sector as well. Fundamentally, as part of mitigating the spread of the pandemic we must continue without failure to observe all the non-pharmaceutical interventions of social distancing, proper wearing of masks, sanitising and washing our hands regularly.”