Silobela Centre assists youth with life skills

The Silobela Youth Advisory Centre is making it its business to close the digital divide and to mentor the youth in the right direction.
The centre was established in 2011 and is funded by the Department of Social Development (DSD) with the purpose of offering free career guidance, life skills, moral regeneration, computer literacy and entrepreneurship development.
According to the mentors at the centre, most locals use the centre for job applications, career guidance and they also prepare most of them for interviews and compiling proper CVs.
According to the programme co-ordinator S’busiso Khumalo, his team aligns itself with other youth upliftment programmes ran by different organisations in the area.
Youth mentor Simphiwe Nkosi is a career guidance mentor and says most of the time high school learners do not know what they want to do after school due to lack of career guidance.
Entrepreneurial development mentor Cylvia Mokwena says the centre has a good employment track record with those they have assisted.
According to youth mentor S’fiso Makhunga, most of the contract workers employed at the stadium renovations were assisted at the centre.
The centre also played a vital role in assisting last year’s Grade 12 learners to apply for admission at the institutions of higher learning and they wish to continue assisting local schools, especially with computer literacy.
Campaigns the centre is involved in include HIV awareness, crime, drugs and substance abuse dialogue together with Love Life and back-to-school campaigns.
The mentors at the centre are all concerned about the ignorance of some of the youth but are confident that current initiatives with their partners will improve the outcomes and urge members of the community to visit the centre where assistance is free.