Development centre serves the youth of Region 9 through skills training
The centre is there to help members of the community to better themselves.
REGION 9 Development Centre is offering skills training to the poor, unemployed youth of Region 9 in Johannesburg. The centre in La Rochelle is in its 15th year and continues serving the community.
Acting centre manager Ronny Selowa, who started out as a volunteer for the centre in 2013, spoke about how the centre is there to help members of the community better themselves.
“I grew up in poverty so I have always wanted to help young people who are growing up like I did,” Ronny said.
The centre focuses on four pillars of community development:
• Information, advice and referral: This pillar focuses on helping young people register for work, funding and with referral to departments in which they are trying to find work.
• Social programmes: Workshops and talks are held for the poor and abused to assist them with their daily challenges. Guests are invited to speak to community members about issues such as drug abuse, HIV/Aids, and parenting skills for young parents.
• Skills development: Life skills such as interview preparation and filling out application forms are available to the community. Basic skills training is also offered to 10 people per year per trade. The training is offered in plumbing, electrical work, welding and sewing.
• Entrepreneurship: The last pillar which is connected to the third is about assisting people with basic skills in getting into the industries they were trained in or attaining funding to start their own companies.
The basic skills training lasts three weeks before the participants get their first NQF level qualification and they continue until they become more qualified. In the past, the centre has placed graduates at Bytes Technology, a leading IT company in South Africa.
The centre does, however, struggle with resources as they are one of the only NPOs in Region F doing this. There is also not enough space for the training they want to do in the community.
In the future, they hope to have more centres throughout the region to be more accessible to the community. They also plan on having outreach programmes where they can connect even further with the community and assist them where they can.
While the centre mainly caters to people between the ages of 18 and 35, they also assist people outside of the area and age group where they can. What does Selowa want the community to know?
“Don’t be afraid to tell us what you want. The centre is here for you.”
Their office is located at Johannesburg Road and 11th Street, La Rochelle. You can also call the office at 011 436 1134.
Compiled by Nokuthula Sibiya
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Skills training courses for unemployed youth
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