by Amanda Rwala

As we all know that the 1^st of May is a public holiday, IkamvaYouth learners spent their day finding out about opportunities that are available for them after Grade 12. We arrived at Langa at 10:30 and the event started with an ice breaker called multiplies of 3, where the learners’ numeric skills were tested in a fun way. Those that didn’t get it right were asked to sing and dance.   

Then the event was opened with a prayer. The MC who was Dr Khulile Moeketsi spoke about his experiences of studying and qualifying as a medical doctor even though his parents were not able to pay for his tertiary fees. He then called upon Mr Xolisa Mnyanda who was the main person responsible for organizing the career expo.  He talked about his own career progress experiences, He said he works for Eskom as an electrical technician and explained that Eskom is always recruiting and providing many employment opportunities for the youth, and learners should not be discouraged by what they hear on the news about unemployment rates increasing in our country.  He said Eskom offers bursary and apprenticeship opportunities, all one has to do is to apply. He encouraged learners to also consider options such as entrepreneurship, while they are still in high school. He made an example of his first car, saying all of his friends were surprised why he bought a bakkie as his first car. Then they saw the need as the bakkie was able to pay itself and its insurance through money gained from people that hired him for removals when moving.  The next speakers were the officials from the University of the Western Cape and they explained the point system for entry at their university. They also said that if there are learners that are not sure which careers that they wanted to choose, they must take their details and give it to their life orientation teachers, where the teachers can be able to contact the Student recruitment centre and organize free psychometric testing that will match their interest and values to possible careers that they can choose. 

Students representing the University of Cape Town spoke about life skills and emphasized the importance of hard work and dedication for succeeding at tertiary institutions and in life generally. They stressed that matriculants should give their all this year as their matric certificate can open a lot of doors for them. 

Cape Peninsula University was represented by two SRC members.  They talked about the tendency that learners from townships surrounding CPUT have, one of not applying to tertiary institutions in time, because they claim to be waiting for their final results.  They said CPUT is a world recognized institution, which meant that they are not competing for places for studying with learners from the Western Cape only, but with people as far as Angola and Germany. Learners can apply to CPUT with their grade 11 results and then send the grade 12 results as they get them and must not wait for June or December result. They also had some advice for the girls, they warned girls not to waste their time with boys as the results could be unwanted pregnancy that will affect their studies and their future. The boys were told to stop or not even try to do drugs, especially dagga as this lead to nowhere.  They also said that learners should try and be responsible for their futures, by making the right choices and not let their financial situations hinder them on achieving then career dreams. Learners were told to start now by finding part time jobs and save up money for things such as application fees and registration forms, and they must start to make sacrifices and forget about the clothing brands that are expensive. Instead of buying expensive Nikes and Levis they could save that money for registration fees. 

The motivational speaker Ms Zukiswa Mqolomba, a former UCT SRC President spoke about her life experiences, she said her father died when she was 7 and her mother had to raise her and her sister up alone and she struggled. But she never let her background determine who she wanted to be in life and encourage learners to be proactive in pursuing their dreams. She asked learners to participate and share their dreams and mention what they were doing to achieve them. In line with IkamvaYouth’s values most of the learners had dreams that involved giving back to the community in areas such as contributing to the growth of SA’s economy or to Social development.

In closing, the learners were divided in groups according to their career interests and were give an opportunity to talk to individuals who have already made it in their respective fields. 

The career expo was very motivational and there were prizes such as Caps, T-Shirts, pens, and sweets that were given away to learners that asked questions and showed enthusiasm.