Empowerment promises: Gauteng partners with business to give a leg up to one million youths

Tshepo 1Million is an online youth empowerment initiative convened by the Gauteng government to break down barriers to participation in the economy. It provides hope to unemployed youth through the facilitation of skills, job opportunities and entrepreneurship.

Participants must be unemployed residents of Gauteng between the ages of 18 and 34 years with at least Grade 10.

Outlining how the programme works, Gauteng Education MEC PanyazaLesufi said on Tuesday 30 April that he had been tasked by Cabinet to run an initiative that provides the youth with opportunities.

Tshepo 1Million offers transitional placements to youth with no matric and no work experience, giving them a chance to learn and prove themselves while they build skills through online learning labs. For the youth with matric but no work experience, Tshepo 1Million will identify and place them forward for entry-level job opportunities in companies which have partnered with the government. For the youth who have vocational training or work experience in small businesses, the initiative provides them with the opportunity to be part of a new economy.

For those without means to access the internet, activation teams will be stationed in various locations around communities such as schools and community halls. Certain libraries, government offices and NGO sites will also have special Tshepo 1Million kiosks, where people can use the mobisites to starts their journey with the programme.

Lesufi said for the last three years they have been going kasi-to-kasi to provide job opportunities for one million young people to work in the government sector and most importantly to assist those who want to become entrepreneurs.

“Out of the one million I was tasked to get so far, I’m standing at 740,000, so I’m running short of 260,000 people. We really believe that if government can’t go to each township to identify young people that need opportunities then we would have failed young people,” he said.

For instance, the initiative has partnered with Microsoft to equip one million young people with computer literacy skills. Upon completion of the training programme, participants will be given globally recognised certificates. Lesufi said the certificates are worth R45,000 but will be provided for free. “They are giving that certificate free of charge between three weeks and two months depending on how fast you can learn, and you attend where you stay,” he said.

The initiative will also provide dedicated people under 35 with free training for the K53 driver’s licence. “If you don’t know how to drive, you can’t get a job because the majority of jobs require you to move from one area to another,” he said.

The government is also working with a company to offer call centre training. During training young people will be provided with meals and a monthly stipend.

The initiative will provide a better understanding of occupations such as being a receptionist, cleaning and clerical work at local police stations and clinics.

Young people who qualify for higher education after matric will be eligible for bursaries. The initiative also has at its disposal the Second Chance programme that will help school dropouts finish their matric (from Grade 10-12) and will pay for examination fees.

Through the Rapid Land Release Programme local government will hand over serviced sites in terms of water, electricity, and waste removal for people to build houses.

“We’ve taken an audit of all the land in Gauteng that is owned by Government, we will be releasing it to young people,” said Lesufi.

School dropout Duduzile Dlamini, 22, is struggling to find work. She is hopeful that the local government will deliver on its promises. “We trust that they will deliver all these things,” she said.

Gugulethu Dlamini, 23, felt buoyed by the willingness of the local government to assist. “Right now, I’m an ECD (Early Childhood Development) I have my N4 and N6 certificate and now I’m still struggling to get a job, I’m busy doing my internships and it’s really hard. I’m really excited about the entrepreneurial opportunities because I can at least start something of my own,” she said.

For Mbali Radebe, 19, actions speak louder than words. “He sounded very promising, but we will see.” DM