IkamvaYouth KZN Careers Indaba 2014

IkamvaYouth KZN Careers Indaba 2014 

On the 25^th of April 2014 IkamvaYouth KZN hosted their second Annual Careers Indaba. The event, which saw learners and members of the public walk through the doors throughout the day, was hosted in the Chesterville community hall.

Learners from Umlazi arriving

The vision of the Careers Indaba was to open up new opportunities for youth, providing them with information regarding the various programs, resources and support structures that are available to them. By educating people about the choices that are available to them, we sought to empower them, allowing them to make informed decisions about their futures.

This year’s list of exhibitors included eThekwini Municipality, ABI, CAO, Department of Labour, DUT, Training Force, Servest Group, Piece of Cake Events, Container, Career Planet and Libraries, ASN Teambuilding

There were also a number of interactive workshops on offer on the day, covering topics such as Entrepreneurial Skills, Career Decision-making, Leadership, as well as career choices available at institutions such as UKZN and DUT. These workshops were offered by UKZN, DUT and Gugu, who is a drug counsellor in Chesterville also gave the learners a career motivation workshop.

Learners also had the opportunity to hear from a number of guest speakers throughout the day, who all offered valuable advice about making career, as well as general life choices. Among these speakers, were the local councillor Mam Jabu Jabu Mbongwa, social development manager of the Cator Manor Area Based Management Khanyi Msweli and Brandon Hiemand from Career Planet.

DUT representative Mduduzi giving the Careers workshop

The day ended off with some excitement, as prizes, including t-shirts donated by Varsity College and delicious cup-cakes donated by Piece of Cake Events were awarded. Container, a small, youth-run business created quite a stir with a contest they ran, where volunteers were invited to devour a giant burger in 2 minute! This lead to them being recognised by Nosihle Mthethwa, from ABI, pledged an amazing R10 000 worth of support to see this business continue to grow. IkamvaYouth held a raffle draw for an MTN Stepper Android cellphone, which was won by Tanya  Chiyambiro From the Chesterville branch.

Cellphone winner Tanya pictured with IkamvaYouth Staff member Thandazo

Learners at the Container stand

Learners felt that the day was informative, a lot of them reporting that they learnt things that they were not aware of before. Here is what a few learners had to say:

 “… learnt that if we work together as isizwe sabamnyama (the black nation) we can make big things ezi valuable  and special for izizukulwane ezizayo this was unexpected for real” – Zama Mpanza from Mzwamandla high school

“I Learned that you can apply for whatever you like, it’s just that you will have to do it on time because there are so many young people out there who want to study so have to do it on time ngayalezeli ,imbila yaswela usmila ngakho lokho” (Zulu proverb – meaning even the Hyrax did not get a tail due to procrastination)  –  Lindo Mbili

Volunteers and exhibitors also felt the day went well. With some exhibitors saying they had not anticipated the number of learners coming through the doors on the day.

“The day was okay. The thing here is the choice is from the individual, it’s their call to make. We can all do as much to inform them about what is available for them and how they are going to benefit we can only hope that they take advice and take advantage of the services we offer them” – Nokuthula from Harambe

Learners getting application advice from CAO rep

We would like to thank the Cator Manor ABM, our main sponsors for this event, for their support (financially and in-kind) in ensuring the success of this event. A special thanks goes to all the exhibitors, guest speakers, and workshop facilitators, as well as learners (as well as principals who allowed them to attend the event), who participated enthusiastically throughout the day. We would also like to thank our in-kind sponsors of this event, include the Playhouse Company (who donated production tickets for our volunteers), Unilever (who donated the gifts for our exhibitors & workshop facilitators), as well as ABI, who provided drinks on the day. Last, but not least, we would like to thank all the volunteers, some of whom were organised by the local counsillor’s office, for all their hard work throughout the day. It was a truly great event and we are looking to hosting a bigger and better event in the future.