Youth portal for empowerment
Mahlatsi Mgidi
14 September 2004
The Umsobomvu Youth Fund has invited unemployed young people to register on its online information portal and compile their profiles that could help the youths access employment opportunities.
The profiles will allow young people to be accessible by interested businesses and give the youth exposure to jobs, learnerships and entrepreneurial opportunities.
The information is available on the Youth Portal website or by calling youth-connect on 0860 096 884 to register.
UYF's senior programme manager Derek Smith said they hope by November young people would also be able to register at post offices, labour centres, multipurpose community centres and UYF advisory centres.
Smith said the UYF initiated the registration process through the online portal and youth-connect to incorporate young people into the Jobs and Opportunities Seekers Database.
"The database will link them
to a list of jobs, skills training and entrepreneurial opportunities currently under development. UYF has also taken the idea of a graduates database a step further by expanding it to include all unemployed youth," he said.
Chief executive of UYF Malose Kekana said the database will not only benefit unemployed youth looking for work but will also assist employers offering bursaries or scholarships.
"I believe the database will become a powerful tool to unlock the potential of South Africa's unemployed youth," he said.
The Umsobomvu Youth Fund is a government supported organisation and was established in 2001 to create a platform for job creation and skills development for the South African youth.
The fund has set up three major programmes, the Contact Information and Counselling (CIC), Skills Development and Transfer and Youth Entrepreneurship.
The CIC programme gives young people access to information and counselling support while the Skills
Development and Transfer programme equips them with skills to access sustainable living and offers defined job opportunities.
The youth entrepreneurship programme facilitates economic participation by helping young people access sustainable business opportunities through funding and business development services.
UYF has committed approximately R500-million to 90 projects countrywide over the past 36 months.
Source: BuaNews
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