IkamvaYouth KZN Careers Indaba 2014
On the 25th 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.
On Friday the 11th of April, University of Witswatersrand opened its doors to aspiring high school learners. 35, Ebony Park Grade 12’s came together to see what university life looks like as well as to decide on their tertiary options. With the help of our very committed volunteer Hlengiwe Radebe, the learners were divided into 3 specific groups upon arrival. The humanities groups was led by Nyasha Zvomuya, the Ebony Park Branch Coordinator. The commercials group was led by Michael Thema, the Ebony Park Branch Assistant, and the last group of aspiring scientists was led by Hlengiwe Radebe.
The open day was very organised with 30 minute seminars being hosted by different faculties in different lecture rooms. The facilitators explained what programmes were offered in their faculties, what the minimum admission requirements were and what career opportunities students could look forward to after completing their studies. The learners’ then had ample time to ask questions and meet the lecturers who teach in those faculties. It was a very exciting experience for our learners and has given them an even added push to do well in their final exams.
“I now know what is required for me to follow my dream to be a doctor, if I get accepted at Wits,” said Quintress Sefala, one of the Grade 12 learners. Another learner, Virginia Sibanda, could not express how grateful she was to get the opportunity to attend such a spectacular open day. She said, “Thanks to IkamvaYouth, we know that all things are possible”
On the 22nd of March, both Ebony Park and Ivory Park branches came together to plan for 2014. This years’ Strategic Planning Weekend (SPW) was held at The Barefoot Backpackers, a perfect spacious venue. The volunteers were met with some early morning tea and refreshments to wake everyone up to the busy day ahead.
To start off the day volunteers from Ivory Park, Emmanuel and Richard, introduced the SPW meeting and outlined firstly what IkamvaYouth is and facilitated the setting out of ground rules to guide the day. They laid out their expectations of what they wanted to see as the outcomes of the SPW. Mr Mashanda, the Gauteng District Coordinator took the stand and outlined what will be taking place and he emphasised that he expected all branch related issues to be addressed during the meeting.
Both Ebony Park and Ivory Park branches gave a brief overview of branch activities throughout 2013 and immediately after that the branches broke away into 2 separate groups. The task for the larger part of the morning was to discuss the challenges faced and devise ways to solve the challenges. It was interesting because the volunteers themselves facilitated these sessions and highlighted personal observations and the sessions were very interactive. Specific action points were decided upon and recorded and feedback will already be expected from the first branch committee meetings at the branches.
The last half of the day was dedicated to branch targets and electing a new branch committee for 2014. The enthusiastic vounteers now knew what was needed at the branches and became pro-active in choosing the right candidates to fill the different portfolios.
Overally, it was a very insightful day and it is amazing to see how much support the branches have. Both Ebony Park and Ivory Park volunteers have taken ownership of IkamvaYouth in their communities!
IKAMVAYOUTH RESPONDS TO PROPOSED GRADUATE COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR GRADUATES
IkamvaYouth (IY) is interested to hear that the South African government hopes to implement a mandatory one year programme for all tertiary graduates. All students will be expected to finish twelve months of community service in a field related to their studies, the ANC announced <insert relevant date>.
As an organisation that relies entirely on the volunteerism and goodwill of students to tutor and mentor high school youth, IkamvaYouth believes community service works best when people offer their help freely. IY would like to see many graduates involved in community development, but does not think an extra year after university or college makes as much sense as working while studying. Joy Oliver, IkamvaYouth’s Director, believes flexibility and willingness are crucial when using graduates to carry additional workload. She has noticed that volunteers who are forced to participate have a high dropout rate from programmes and do not have the same impact as students who step up to make a difference through their own volition.
“IkamvaYouth tutors and mentors achieve excellent results because they choose to spend the time that could be used for their own studies, leisure or income generation to instead enable learners to pull themselves and each other out of poverty,” says Joy, who has seen hundreds of students volunteer since IkamvaYouth began in 2003. “It is because they care so much, and are such great role models, that between 85-100% of the learners they tutor and mentor pass matric, and 70% of these go on to access tertiary education.”
Government is expected to introduce community service programmes by 2016, with the belief that students will benefit from the work experience one year of work affords. IkamvaYouth currently runs off the services of hundreds of volunteers, many of whom tutor while studying at university or college, and proposes instead that these community service programmes are integrated into tertiary studies, as an experiential learning opportunity. In addition, IkamvaYouth proposes that the funds allocated to these initiatives are instead used as incentives for committed, effective student volunteerism. Receiving these incentives in the form of funds for registration fees, textbooks, transport and accommodation while studying will be a great support to students in overcoming the financial challenges that can lead to dropout from tertiary studies.
On the 12th of April 2014 all 21 of our grade 12 learners, accompanied by 4 of our tutors, attended an Open Day that was hosted by UCT at the Upper Campus of the University. The purpose of the day was to expose grade 12 learners to the various career opportunities available at the institution, the requirements for each and what one must do in order to access such opportunities.
Upon arrival out Masinites were out and about siezing the moment and opportunity. An interesting part of the day was seeing how the matrics were hungry for knowledge and insight about UCT and all the available opportunities. From stall to stall they moved asking questions and collecting support materials that were available at each faculty booth.
The Open Day was a great opportunity for the learners to equip themselves for the rest of their matric year and for their upcoming application process. Going through the various faculty booths the learners appeared to be having fun and also appeared to be gaining a lot of knowledge about all the opportunities available at UCT. It also became clear how benefitial such events are in creating a sence of onness and morale amongst the learners.
Lloyd Lungu