Annual career initiative a resounding success
JOBURG - 50 000 pupils take part in Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day campaign.
More than 50 000 pupils from around the country recently took part in the Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day campaign. About 400 businesses hosted these promising pupils this year.
The Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day is targeted at Grade 10 to 12 girl pupils, giving them the opportunity to visit a place of work and to experience first-hand, the “world of work” and the various career opportunities available in the industry and within the public service sectors.
The initiative takes place annually, on the last Thursday of the month
More than 2 600 companies and government departments have participated in the initiative to date and over 700 000 girls have been exposed to a multitude of businesses and varied career and job opportunities.
Cell C also has a Girl Child Bursary Fund which is aimed at improving access to further education and post-matric training for qualifying girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. Funds for the bursary are raised via an SMS campaign. In 2013, bursaries were awarded to 10 deserving girls.
This success has prompted the mobile network operator to launch a pilot mentorship programme called Girl Child Institute of Mentorship. The programme, under the patronage of Cheryl Carolus, involves a network of 35 leading business women and Cell C female executives, who will pledge their time and support to high achieving Grade 12 female pupils.
Thus, the goal of the Take a Girl Child to Work Day initiative is to “deepen the thinking of the girl child with regard to their infinite roles in society, enhance her self-esteem, inspire and motivate her to reach her full potential and through exposure to diverse careers and positive role models assist her to prepare for the world of work.
“I will love to be part of such a project,” commented Lethabo Dube a student of University of Johannesburg.
“If I had an opportunity to do this before I applied, I would not have changed courses at university after realising [later] that accounting was not my thing. I am two years behind now because I only changed my course.”
“If students can do this, they will have a better understanding of what type of job they want,” she said.
