Building strong communities through entrepreneurship

Grade 10-12 learners were exposed to business opportunities, and to explore various career options at the Ikageng Career and Business Expo held at the Moses Molelekwa Community Centre on April 24.

Giyane Secondary School educator Florence Sibuyi said the expo will provide an opportunity to enable the learners to become future entrepreneurs.

“We do sewing, an activity that keeps learners occupied while others enjoy sport activities. Today we are here to expose the learners to possibilities of becoming entrepreneurs no matter what their background is,” said Sibuyi.

“We have learnt that there are more opportunities out there, and we should not confine ourselves to subjects we do at schools, but should also remember to be concerned about job opportunities and career paths,” said Dimakatso Mofokeng, a Grade 11 leaner.

Event coordinator Lethabo Bapela said the expo is an attempt to support and benefit the community.

“The expo aims to instil the importance of career development among the residents, helping to support learners to understand themselves better and to have better career options.

“To encourage learners to consider post-graduate career plans as well as to appreciate the value of entrepreneurship.

“Thanks to learners from schools such as Giyane Secondary School for their enthusiasm and keenness to learn more about entrepreneurship,” added Bapela.

Branding and marketing director Cheseho Khondowe expressed disappointment that other stakeholders did not attend the event.

“However, the event was successful because the children showed up and grabbed opportunities made available to them,” said Khondowe.

“For the learners to have a brighter future, they need to be exposed to business practices not offered at school.

“I am happy the children were happy because the main objective of the expo was to change their mind-set, and for creating the next generation of entrepreneurs, not just employees of tomorrow,” said Khondowe.