Programme boosts youth employment

KNYSNA NEWS – Last week, the Western Cape Department of Social Development hosted a special event in support of youth development.

The event, held on 29 March, was aimed at creating a platform through which young people aged between 18 and 25 can seek help to find jobs in and around the community. More than 80 attendees were present.

The project was spearheaded by assistant community development officer Lauren Fredericks, with help from her team, Marileze Matthews, Jamie Leo, Carl-Marshall Anele Lawens and Michael Nogwaza.

Throughout the interactive session, the youth development leader outlined the efforts of the organisation to provide support to young people in the community.

The Department of Social Development is responsible for equipping the youth with resources to help them find jobs, provide them access to training courses and internships, assist them in the process of job searching and coach them on how to script the right kind of CV.

A learner that Fredericks has previously helped was present and did a presentation on his work at Chrysalis Academy, an opportunity that was facilitated through the Department of Social Development.

Fredericks is responsible for helping more than 200 young people in and around the greater Knysna area by connecting them to job opportunities.

She also provided the necessary resources for young people to begin their own NPOs.

The Youth Development initiative was started to create an accessible network of job opportunities for young people. Currently, the youth unemployment rate is at 61% in South Africa. Fredericks hopes that through the implementation of these channels she can encourage young people to be in charge of their futures and address this statistic.

The proceedings included a speech by Knysna Mayor Ndoda Aubrey Tsengwa and Deputy Mayor Alberto Marbi. Tsengwa encouraged the youth of Knysna to pursue alternative routes outside of employment such as entrepreneurship. He also stated that the municipal office has an open door policy and promoted the mayoral bursary in support of the department's efforts to gain resources for youth development.