THE executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Clr Mondli Gungubele, has partnered with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to expand the NYDA’s footprints in Ekurhuleni.
The NYDA has opened 10 new branches in the City if Ekurhuleni, including Kempton Park and Tembisa, in an effort to extend their reach to the young people of Ekurhuleni, bringing the agency’s services, products and programmes to them.
“This initiative has been long overdue and it takes place after the metro has launched another business development, the Ekurhuleni Business Facilitation Centre in Kempton Park,” Gungubele explains.
The launch of the 10 branches will help bring closer to Ekurhuleni youth the services and products of the NYDA, including applications for funding to further their education through the NYDA Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship Fund and access to information on the Grant programme, which serves to provide financial funding and development support to aspiring youth entrepreneurs.
Other services and programmes offered by the agency include business consultancy services, the entrepreneurship development programme, the job preparedness programme as well as access to career guidance information.
According to an interview with the SABC, NYDA chairman Yershen Pillay, confirmed that the new offices in Ekurhuleni would be no different from the other 194 existing local branches across the country, and that this move was just for the purpose of expanding their accessibility to more youth.
“The aim is to increase the NYDA local branches in order to expand our reach, the extension of our products, services and programmes to more young people in more areas,””Pillay said during the interview.
The NYDA was launched to assist the youth in various ways, including career guidance, educational funding and entrepreneurship ventures in order to improve the opportunities available to the youth to better their lives.
The agency does this by ensuring all major stakeholders, including government, civil society,and the private sector),prioritise youth development and contribute towards identifying and implementing lasting solutions which address youth development challenges.
So far, the NYDA has helped many individuals and businesses (small and big) achieve business and career goals through their development programmes. The NYDA is positive that its extension into Ekurhuleni will make a difference to the region’s youth.
