Collaboration needed to upskill unemployed youths

Duncan Raftesath from Wits Enterprise believes that increased collaborations between the private and public sectors as well as educational institutions are required to extend opportunities.

According to Raftesath, entrepreneurship has long been considered part of the solution to high youth unemployment, however, the predicament of South Africa’s unemployment youth is a very precise one. “They are hungry for help to learn to start and grow small businesses, but they have difficulty accessing funding and placements at institutions of higher learning,” he said.

He believes increased collaboration is needed to extend opportunities to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to learn and need experience.

At Wits Enterprise, the plight of unemployed youths and their appetite for learning were evident at the registration for a short course designed and intended specifically for unemployed South Africans earlier this year.

Hundreds of candidates visited Wits Enterprise the day before orientation, and on the day of registration, some 3 000 young people showed up in the hopes of being accommodated on the course. “It took the whole day to speak to the candidates, gather their contact details and clear out our administration offices. The overwhelming interest in the course and the enthusiasm of the candidates that came to our offices that day demonstrated the dire need for more learning opportunities to be made available to the youth.

“People who are educated and have basic business skills have more potential to start small businesses and grow them enough to create employment and generate wealth for their communities. The dilemma is extending access to educational opportunities to youths with limited resources.”

He continued, “Wits Commercial Enterprise is keen to partner with companies in the private and public sector to bring skills development and entrepreneurial training programmes within the reach of unemployed youths. As the education partner, we will develop the material and course content, as well as secure the necessary accreditation. However, we do need funding support to make it happen.

“We would love to make more courses happen so that these unemployed youths can achieve their dreams to study further. We appeal to potential stakeholders that might be interested in partnering with us to get in touch so that we can help these desperate young people.”

Raftesath added that programmes that allow for skills transfer and on-the-job preparation are needed for students who might have skills but are unemployed because they do not have work experience.

Wits Enterprise’s short courses unit is the benchmark in the delivery of relevant short courses and learning experiences for people that want to enhance their skills to go further, as well as companies that want to give their employees the edge. They also provide turnkey training solutions and customised learning experiences that are tailored to specific needs.

Details: Wits Commercial Enterprise 011 717 3930.

Related article:

https://northeasterntribune.co.za/219722/a-dynamic-entrepreneurial-workshop-well-underway/