A career expo hosted by the City of Cape Town will be held at Spine Road High School, on Friday March 18, from 8am to noon; and from 2pm to 4pm; and on Saturday March 19, from 8am to 1pm.
The City of Cape Town’s social development and early childhood development directorate will partner with the Western Cape Education Department and the Cape Careers Exhibitors’ Association to reach at least 3 000 pupils and their parents from the Mitchell’s Plain and Philippi areas.
The expo is one of eight being hosted by the City and forms part of the Transversal Youth Development Strategy. The strategy aims to develop young people in terms of life skills, but also broaden their horizons in terms of economic potential once they complete school.
About 20 exhibitors including FET colleges, universities, nursing colleges and other institutions have confirmed their participation at the event.
Apart from advice on potential career paths post-school, pupils will also be able to complete career assessments. In addition, sessions for parents will look at how parents can support their children in their education and how to understand the process of subject and career selection.
Mayoral committee member for social development and early childhood development, Suzette Little, said: “This is a great opportunity and I encourage pupils in the area to make the most of it. Successful careers are born of ideas. Many young people have no idea what to do when they finish school and some aren’t sure if they have what it takes to pursue a tertiary education and how to do this. These career expos are meant to answer all of these questions and more, but also to provide encouragement and inspiration to children and parents.
“I appeal to our young people to attend the expos in their areas and see what is out there for them. Youth unemployment is a massive challenge. The youth unemployment rate is currently just under 35%. So why not get out there and see what you can do to set yourself apart from the crowd, but more importantly how to prevent becoming a statistic.”