New youth opportunities, funding unveiled at Midvaal Summit
Midvaal’s annual Youth Summit has delivered its biggest haul of pledges yet, with companies, banks and training partners committing to new learnerships, bursaries and business support for local young people.
MIDVAAL – Midvaal Local Municipality’s third annual Mayoral Youth Summit has delivered its strongest commitments yet, unveiling a wide range of pledges aimed at expanding opportunities for young people across the region.
Held at the Midvaal Christian Centre, the event drew a large turnout of local youth eager to access the support, training and career pathways offered by government departments, private-sector partners, NGOs and NPOs exhibiting at the summit.
According to the municipality, the summit continues to honour its founding promise: to be more than a talk shop and instead provide tangible, life-changing opportunities. With youth unemployment, poverty and inequality still posing major challenges, the municipality said it remains intentional about mobilising partners to deliver practical, immediate solutions.
This year’s summit saw significant new commitments. Afriguard pledged 70 learnerships exclusively for Midvaal residents. YAB Skills committed to training 10 SMMEs through its accredited New Venture Creation programme from February 2026, while Human Capital Learning Solutions will train 50 unemployed youth in key digital fields including cybersecurity, IoT and basic programming.
Meyerton Engineering announced a series of long-term commitments: offering learnerships and apprenticeships, establishing a Midvaal Scholarship Fund in 2026, and exploring SME development programmes in partnership with the municipality.
Nedbank pledged R50 000 towards the Mayoral Bursary Fund, along with financial literacy programmes valued at more than R180 000, SME training worth R150 000, and enrolling three local youth into the YES Programme — a total investment of nearly R200 000. The bank also plans to expand its SimplyBiz small-business support initiative.
Additional support came from TLP App, which pledged 50 free business registrations, while the municipality itself reaffirmed its commitment of R750 000 for bursaries in the 2025 academic year.
Midvaal Mayor Peter Teixeira said the municipality would continue to “create opportunities for all” by strengthening partnerships that uplift young people.
