Local Occupational Skills Training For Unemployed Youth

The NEETs (youth not employed or in education and training) in Willowmore, a rural town in the newly established Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality, Eastern Cape are only on the increase. Following the release of the matric results early this year has once again shown the frantic efforts by those who have passed to get into any form of training after school. From the 72 matrics only two are currently at university at some 10-13 at TVET colleges. The majority have now fallen into the NEET-narrative the majority of SA youth find themselves in.

Learnerships and other shorter skills training programmes are mostly being offered in the metropolitan and bigger centres in SA, thus leaving the already marginalised rural youth year-on-year behind. The costs of setting up away from home is simply too high for our youth already living and battling to survive and mitigate the consequences of abject poverty by at least having completed matric (national senior certificate). So this alternative is nothing short of just another cul de sac to them.

Willowmore Development Agency NPC has embarked on an initiative to lobby for opportunities by engaging all institutions across all sectors to consider cascading or to bring some of the skills training opportunities to our town. Here are ample building spaces which can easily accommodate an exponential number of prospective trainees and training activities. Therefore we are now pleading with training provider institutions in service of various SETAs to consider bringing parts of their funded skills training/learnerships to our town and help mitigate the disastrous impact of unemployment and poverty is already having on our hopeless youth - our future.

It will be highly appreciated.