Skills programme empowers local youth
Northern Cape March 18, 2023 News desk
A Life Skills Development programme, specifically designed to stimulate youth employment in the
field of technology has yielded a cohort of 16 graduates from the Siyancuma municipal
area that is located in the Northern Cape.
Funded by Boikanyo Solar in collaboration with the Advanced Technology Training Institute, the
programme aims to empower and build ICT skills capacity for the participating youth, all of which
were unemployed at the time of the selection. Through this credited course, participants gained
knowledge and skills in ICT Skills Development Programme and Information Technology System
Development, and received a Technical Support Certificate Level 4, rendering them job ready.
“The initiative forms part of our flagship youth development programme, which is intended to
improve the skills of the youth in these communities and to close the unemployment gap. Following
ongoing engagements with development stakeholders, we are looking at ways to transfer the skills
by training youth to further their careers and start their own businesses,” explained Tshepo
Kgoloane, Community Operations Manager for Boikanyo Solar.
In addition, top students will be guided to apply for further enhancement of their skills at Sol Plaatje University. Those interested in starting their own business will also be linked with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) for business registration and entrepreneurship training to assist them with starting up their own businesses.
Lebogang Mongale, one of the programme beneficiaries, said, “The programme has helped me gain knowledge in IT and meet interesting people. My knowledge of how to open, disassemble, and build computers has been enhanced, as well as my ability to work on software.”