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Employment

Local youth receive support

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:43

Beautiful Gate, an NGO working on the outskirts of Cape Town, and the CRF Institute, a global corporate research organisation that specialises in international projects for good employers, are empowering local youth by giving them some of the information and resources they need to find jobs.

Over 70% of the unemployed in South Africa (25% of the population) falls in the 15 to 34 age-group. The National Planning Commission reports that “in South Africa, if young people fail to get a job by the age of 24, they are unlikely to ever find full-time formal employment. As a consequence, about 60% of an entire generation could live their lives without ever having a formal job. This time bomb is the greatest risk to social stability in South Africa”.

According to Sonwabile Dwangu, a career guidance professional at Beautiful Gate, a lack of information exacerbates the issue: especially in rural areas.

“More often than not, even skilled individuals don’t know how to go about compiling a CV, or applying for a job. So imagine how much worse it is for those who are unskilled. They are simply not aware of the options available to them,” he said.

Beautiful Gate South Africa provides care and support to vulnerable children and families. Working in the informal area of Lower Crossroads their various projects aim to restore the capacity of the community and families to care for their children or, where this is not possible, to find alternative families for them.

In 2009 Beautiful Gate conducted a community mapping exercise, and poor access to information was highlighted as a key issue. It was with this in mind that they developed a walk-in resource centre; a way for the community to access information and seek advice. Dwangu, who runs the youth empowerment workshops from this centre, says: “we offer career advice, especially in terms of processes – and lots of books and information around tertiary education and employment preparation”.

Dwangu explained that several years ago he came across three publications that have proven extremely useful in this regard: SA’s Leading Managers, Careers SA and Best Employers South Africa, which are published annually by the CRF Institute. “These books were an inspiration towards my own learning, and as such it was an obvious choice for use in the workshops.”

Although the publications each have their own unique features, Dwangu points out that essentially they identify which companies in South Africa make good employers and provide information about employment opportunities and the attributes the companies would be seeking in students. “It’s nice because the Careers SA publication also offers career advice from some inspirational people in the country who are doing amazing things,” he said.

Judging by the number of times that the publications are checked out of the centre library, Dwangu says the youth of the community are finding them very helpful. “The information is easy to understand, and paints a clear picture of the possibilities on offer from companies in South Africa, and how best to access them. Useful information is rare in these areas, and it cannot be overstated how important it is.”

For several years now the CRF Institute has provided the resource centre with free copies of its publications with the help of logistics company, Courierit, as part of its social outreach activities. The organisation also distributes hundreds of free copies of the publications to schools across South Africa and Courierit, which operates in nine cities across South Africa, generously assists them in this enormous task.

Dwangu explained that due to its positioning at Lower Crossroads, he believes Beautiful Gate is in a strategic position to help many people, and the information they provide is wide-spread, with individuals coming from as far as Langa and Guguletu for advice and assistance.

“We provide skills and information to the community, but at the same time, we can’t just do the work for them; we try to help people help themselves; so that they can take that knowledge to the wider community. We must never forget the bigger impact,” said Dwangu.

Beautiful Gate also runs a paediatric HIV clinic, a children’s home (with 42 safe places for children as well as psycho-social and spiritual support) and family-reunification services. The work they do is inspirational and the impact immeasurable, but they are well aware of the desperate odds that they face.

Dwangu believes that working together with other organisations like the CRF Institute and Courierit, government and community is the only way that they can continue towards positive change. “We’ve been here for 10 years, through networks we can spread awareness and information as far as possible,” he said.

For more information about the Beautiful Gate organisation go to www.beautifulgate.org For further information about the CRF Institute, visit www.bestemployers.co.za