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Unemployed young people will be given the opportunity to get vital skills and experience to find jobs through the National Youth Service.
Gauteng MEC of public transport, roads and works, Ignatius Jacobs, highlighted the need for young people to acquire skills
MORE than 4 500 young people helped to launch the National Youth Service (NYS) at the Grace Bible Church in Pimville, Soweto.
The NYS was initiated by the national government in October 2003 as a special programme to focus on high levels of youth unemployment by creating opportunities for voluntary service and skills development among young people.
Unemployed youth between the ages of 18 and 35 are the target, and there are 4 000 people registered with the NYS in Gauteng alone. It has been launched province by province, and on Wednesday, 3 December Gauteng became the eighth province to join the team. Limpopo still has to launch its branch.
Speaking on the day, the Gauteng MEC of public transport, roads and works, Ignatius Jacobs, said many young people in the country faced the challenges of acquiring skills and gaining access to economic growth and social development.
"The establishment of the NYS is more than a step in the right direction in our national building efforts. [It] places both the government and young people in a position to forge a partnership to deliver services to the communities."
The government's strategic aim is to produce healthy, skilled and productive people through the implementation of all-inclusive programmes. "We are spending a total amount of R51-million on this programme and the training is spread over 15 months," Jacobs said.
People registered on the programme would receive training in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, civil engineering, industrial engineering, architecture, quantity surveying, plumbing, bricklaying, plastering, occupational health and safety, and security industry, among other sectors. They will also undergo citizenship training and work as service delivery agents at public service points.
Jacobs said those who worked hard during the programme would get rewarded based on their performance. The first group to achieve good marks would go overseas on an exchange programme; the second group would be placed in an engineering company; and the last group would work for the NYS and train up-coming youth.
The MEC pleaded with the youth to use this opportunity. "You have one chance; take it with both hands and make a mark that no-one can erase."
Lydia Zwane, from Mapetla in Soweto, who is registered with the programme, could not contain her excitement. "This programme is going to open many opportunities for me, because no company was willing to employ me. They all wanted experience, but since I have joined this programme I am going to get all the experience that I need and even more.
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