Career expo brought to local youngsters

Lerato Masepe, a church member at the Jabavu Methodist Church brought the career expo idea to the local church as a way to impart knowledge about bursary opportunities and new career paths available for the youth.

At the Jabavu Methodist Church in White City, several tertiary institutions like Rosebank College, Boston City College, and South West Gauteng TVET College including a financial institution and the Department of Labour became part of the initiative on April 20.

This was to assist young learners, especially from Grade 11 and 12 to not struggle with decision-making in terms of career choices.

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Learners from these Grades are prone to struggle when choosing courses at tertiary level or careers they want to embark on.

“The real reason why I came up with the expo idea was just to give accurate information to a child in a high school in Soweto and also to parents. So what I realised is that a lot of children in Soweto-based schools never get an opportunity to have institutions come to them to give information and to try to change the narrative of higher learning institutions,” explained Masepe.

“You find that a parent is unable to give their child money to go to Wits or UJ or even data to research such things.

“This was me trying to bring Wits, UJ, Rosebank, and any other institution closer to learners to make it easier for them.”

The institutions had brief presentations for the community to first understand the background information that most people were not aware of.

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A representative from First National Bank (FNB) also spoke about the jobs they offer for students doing their third year during the June and December holidays.

The expo had the institutions giving out pamphlets and goodie bags. It also allowed all the students and parents to put all their questions on the tables in various stalls.

Lerato Madondo-Matona, Senior Marketing Manager at FNB said, “Consumer education is something that’s very important especially when it comes to financial education and financial wellness.

I think we all understand that a person can be emotionally well but you also need to be financially well.

“So when the invitation came through it was a matter of how do we assist the youth in acquiring knowledge for them to be able to learn and participate in the economy.”

The expo was a beautiful experience for both the parents and learners as it offered the space for both parties to gain information they would usually never find for free.

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One of the attendees, Siphesihle Ntlazane said, “I got a lot of information from SWGC and FNB. I found out that after matric you don’t have to stay at home and do nothing, they can offer you an opportunity to fix your life by getting a career.

“This was a good opportunity for me and my granddaughter as it was informative about things like bursaries and I wish for us to have more of these.”