Investing in youth development is important if we were to see economic development landscape being changed in the eThekwini Municipal area.

The Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Cllr James Nxumalo today, 05 February 2014, officially launched the Work Experience Programme at the City Hall. The Programme will assist graduates and those who are towards the completion of their qualifications obtain work experience and access to labour markets.

This comes after eThekwini Council last year promulgated the Corporate Education Policy (CEP) which regulates the entry and exit standards of graduates and seeks to help them acquire work experience, internships and in-service trainings occupationally directed to help students complete their qualifications.

“This will help graduates acquire adequate, appropriate and quality workplace skills that will allow them to enter the labour market, increase their employability and gain enough skills to start their own businesses,” said Nxumalo.

Nxumalo said this programme will also assist us to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relations with education institutions and other stakeholders in eThekwini and potential employers for the benefit of our children.

He said in moving the eThekwini forward, it is important to build a nation of productive young people and help them gain proper skills through being in the workplace. This will address the work-related needs of the graduates.

One thousand vacancies for work experience opportunities are available for graduates to fill, while 600 graduates have already been engaged in Municipal Departments as part of the programme.

“Through the CEP we have decided to standardize the programme and ensure that all departments within the Municipality conform to a standard and this will be achieved through the collaboration of other stakeholders,”said Nxumalo.

The following programmes are offered:

• In-service Training: is offered to students who are enrolled by education institutions, but their qualification requires them to be on the workplace as part of their curriculum in order to finalize their qualifications.
• Work Experience: is offered to those who had completed their qualifications but who do not have skills required by the labour market. These should be contracted to be on the workplace for two years.
• Internship: is offered to those who had completed their qualification but necessitate them registering with the professional bodies/councils of their qualification.