by Hugh C.n. Miller | Sep 13, 2019 | Uncategorized
Yes, the Youth are Making It
There is an old African proverb saying “mountains don’t meet but they meet through their shadows” meaning “if it looks impossible it does not mean it’s impossible”. This sums up this story of a young man born and bred in the under developed township of Alexandra, Johannesburg. Julius Olubudun, a veteran ORT SA maths facilitator recognised Clement Moroka’s talent when he learned of the difficult environment that Clement came from and yet, against all odds, he succeeded. “
After matriculating and then obtaining a certificate in computers, his job prospects were very slim. Clement applied at ORT SA, an implementation partner for the Youth Employment Services (Yes) programme tailored for unemployed youth. Olubodun added, “When Clement mentioned that he mentored kids in his neighbourhood in maths and science – that clinched it for me. He was the person we needed on our team and he was assigned as an intern maths tutor to assist me in after school maths classes that ORT SA run.”
A month into the programme an opening arose for an ORT SA Coding facilitator. He was interviewed and landed the job – a full-time position on the ORT SA staff – no longer an intern position. “What looked impossible became possible,” said Clement
“In this journey as a youth and my first time in a professional working environment, I have learnt a lot from my colleagues as well as the projects we are involved in. I’m very blessed for it’s not always the case for a young person to run into such luck, especially in a country where youth unemployment is on a high. My gratitude goes to ORT SA, YES for Youth and Nedbank for changing my life in the manner they did. THANK YOU ORT SA, Yes and Nedbank,” said Clement Moroke.
By Thabang Mphahlele, ORT SA Yes Intern.
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Oct 29, 2018 | Uncategorized
While South Africa is considered an entrepreneurial powerhouse in sub-Saharan Africa, its weakest link in terms of its entrepreneurial ecosystem does happen to be start-up skills. This poses the question, what skills can local youth be taught, in order to improve their appetite for entrepreneurship? Crucial skills that can be taught for the betterment of entrepreneurs include information gathering, organizational skills, rational decision making and oral communication skills, to name a few.
ORT SA continues to upskill aspiring entrepreneurs of all levels. Just ask ORT SA’s skills training facilitator, Rugare Gapare. He says that giving these youngsters business enterprise skills provides the opportunity for them to gain the relevant and necessary skills and tools and does so through experiential learning.
Some participants are active business owners and the benefits of these courses
Learning work ethics and etiquette, marketing and customer care
are life-changing. Self-improvement is key for those wanting to become entrepreneurs. This group showed a vibrant mix of knowledge and experience. Judging from their comments, the beneficiaries were certainly advanced by the training in various ways and are going to put into practice what they learned from the sessions.
Contact us on: info@ortsa.org.za or call 011 728 7154
by Hugh C.n. Miller | Jul 6, 2018 | Uncategorized
The third in the series of blogs from Ariellah, CEO of ORT SA. Watch out for the series of Career Guidance talks coming soon to the ORT SA Academy:
If you knew that you could do whatever your mind is set to do, what would you be doing?
Include this question when pursuing your career choice. Reflect on it and use it in discussions with family and friends. Choose people who will listen to you in a non-judgmental way and with constructive feedback.
When we finish school and are faced with a career decision, we are also under pressure to choose a certain path, from parents or our social circle. Usually, the advice is towards the familiar and conventional job career choices; becoming a lawyer, doctor, accountant…all to secure your future and financial stability.
The question is what future are we securing? Numerous articles and research discuss the unknown with the jobs of the future due to the magnitude of changes brought by technology. Automation and artificial intelligence is said to already replace 50% of the jobs force in the USA. So what will be the jobs of the future and what skills will we need to ensure we are equipped?
In the past, mastering one skill used to be the norm. Be good in one thing, master it and you will become successful. Unfortunately, today, mastering one skill is not enough. In his book, Adam Scott, ‘How to fail at almost everything but still win big’ the author claims that it’s better to develop a variety of abilities and sometimes fail than mastering a single skill. Having many skills, increases your market value and will help you adjust to the world’s constant changes as well as help you stand out from the competition.
How is this helping parents or the decision makers? It may help alleviate the pressure of acquiring one single skilled profession. It may change our perspective that failing in a specific job choice may just be a stepping stone towards another route. Acquiring a variety of skills, already from school is vital if we are to become ready for the jobs of the future.
