Youth Expo in Sebokeng
"The youth Expo should be held regularly, not sporadically, as it often seems like a government ploy for votes. If these expos were more frequent, perhaps more youth would find employment."
SEBOKENG.- The Department of Education, alongside several other departments, collaborated to provide lifetime opportunities to the youth of Sebokeng at the Ntabankulu Multipurpose Centre in Zone 12 recently.
These opportunities are aimed at significantly impacting the lives of young people. Partnering departments included the Department of Health, the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Labour, as well as private sector partners who offered their services to the youth of Sebokeng.
Among them were Sanlam, Standard Bank, Sci-Bono, Discovery Center, Funza Lushaka, and various non-governmental organisations addressing social issues affecting youth.
Bongani Mabuse (45), the Director for Youth Development, emphasised that this initiative differs from the previous program “Nasi Spani,” focusing instead on upskilling opportunities. This is evident in the Department of Labour’s provision of learnerships and internships.
Services offered at the expo included bursaries, learnerships, internships, skills development, matric second chance opportunities, and exam registrations, requiring documents such as ID cards, matric statements/certificates, and high school attendance records.
Workshops on IT skills, entrepreneurship, health services/mental health promotion, job searching, CV writing, home affairs services, Department of Labour services, last-mile delivery opportunities, and E-Commerce opportunities were also provided.
Attendee Lindokuhle Mngumi (29) commented: “The youth expo should be held regularly, not sporadically, as it often seems like a government ploy for votes. If these expos were more frequent, perhaps more youth would find employment.”
