Female pupils urged to venture into entrepreneurship
A group of 40 young girls from four schools in Durban were encouraged to venture into entrepreneurship in order to transform and grow the economy of South Africa during the national “Take a Girl Child to Work Day” Programme held at the Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) on 30 May 2019.
This powerful empowerment platform aimed at young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds was a partnership between the National Empowerment Fund and the Durban ICC.
The “Take a Girl Child to Work Day” initiative is an annual corporate social investment undertaking that has been running in South Africa since 2003.
The programme included a networking breakfast, motivational talks by some of the most influential women in various industries and an interactive session where the girls were given an opportunity to present solutions to the high unemployment challenge facing South Africa. The thought-provoking session was then followed by a tour of the Durban ICC.
Speaking on behalf of the Durban ICC Chief Executive Officer Lindiwe Rakharebe, Corporate Affairs Manager Gugu Sisilana said the Durban ICC’s primary focus through this programme was to turn the tide against the youth unemployment rate, provide guidance to young girls on career development as well as promote youth employability across key sectors of the economy.
“The Durban ICC has a proud history of investing in the lives of young people and this continues today through our Student and Graduate programmes, helping students gain skills, knowledge and first-hand experience of the tourism industry. The Durban ICC is fully committed to the empowerment of young people. The resounding success of the 2019 eThekwini Youth Employability Indaba & KZN Career Expo, which we hosted from 23-25 May, in partnership with various stakeholders bears testament to our unwavering commitment to provide youth with various opportunities to enable them to make informed career choices,” said Sisilana.
Thuba Sibisi from Black Umbrellas, an enterprise development incubation organisation, said the programme was a great platform aimed at inculcating an entrepreneurship mind-set among young girls because of the high unemployment challenges the country is facing.
“When these young girls graduate some careers will be obsolete because of the fourth industrial revolution therefore young girls need to understand early in life that entrepreneurship is the ultimate career choice,” said Sibisi.
Phumelele Mashaba from the Moses Kotane Institute Marine Academy spoke about the various career opportunities that are available in the maritime sector.
“Marine tourism ranks among the top four sub-sectors of the country’s maritime economic sector. It contributed R19-billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2013. Maritime career opportunities remain untapped partly due to lack awareness among South Africans, especially the millions living inland,” she said.
Wendy Gebashe and Nelisiwe Shezi from Nhlanhlayethu Secondary School encouraged fellow pupils to volunteer to work for free in order to gain experience or start a small business and source funding to ensure that your business becomes a success.
Issued by: The Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (Durban ICC)
For more information contact: Durban ICC Corporate Affairs Manager Gugu Sisilana, 031 360 1302 or Gugusisilana@icc.co.za