Department of Employment and Labour tells learners to break the circle of poverty in their families

The Department of Employment and Labour’s Career Counselor, Danny Newman told school learners to break the circle of poverty in their families. This, on the second day of the Careers Fair, held at the Thabo Moorosi Multipurpose Centre in Mothibistad near Kuruman today, 26 May 2023.

“I want you to be a game changer. I want you to break the circle of poverty of your family,” Newman said.

He warned learners to avoid drugs and alcohol as it may lead them to one of three things, either being hospitalized, in prison or dying. “In life, we become where we focus our energies. Therefore, put your energies on what you want to be,” he said.

Newman told the learners about the programmes the Department offers to students and job seekers. Some of the programmes include; career counselling-where learners are assessed through Psychometrics tests to determine their personalities, and interests and then assist in advising them on careers in line with their personalities and interests as well as subjects they can take for the chosen career; short learning courses such as plumbing and building as well as bursaries.

New concluded the session by telling learners that “the only gift you can give to your parents for their efforts is when you succeed at school and pass your grade 12.

Senakhomo, the Director of Public Employment Services(PES) in the Northern Cape Province reiterated the services that PES offers to jobseekers. He said he was also happy that now through the Education for Employability (E4E), the Department in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education and Department of Higher Education and Training as well as the European Union’s(EU) funding, the Department, for the first time has direct access to learners.

“The E4E project funded by the EU is intended to smoothen the pathway from school to work, hence the theme: “Promoting a smooth pathway from school to work”. It presents learners with direct contact with the industry players in addition to what they are taught in Life Orientation in class, Senakhomo said.

Learners were happy for the opportunities they got such as getting information directly from the Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETA’s), government departments, technical colleges, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), as well as banks that were present. Some learners had second thoughts on their chosen careers as they got new ones.

“After visiting the exhibitors and getting information, I am now dropping the idea of being a doctor but an entrepreneur,” said one of the learners.

Source: Government of South Africa