Entertainment
A Catholic skills centre offers South Africa’s young people a pathway to hope
In South Africa, where almost half of young people aged 15 to 34 are unemployed, learning a practical skill can mean the difference between dependency and dignity, despair and hope.
Sheila Pires – Pretoria
On 15 July this year, ‘World Youth Skills Day,’ was observed globally under the theme, Skills for a Shared Future. The day highlights the importance of equipping young people with the technical, entrepreneurial, digital and human skills needed to build inclusive societies and sustainable economies.
Practical skills and livelihoods
For the Catholic Church in Southern Africa, this is not a new mission.
For decades, Catholic schools, training centres and development programmes have invested in education as a way of restoring hope. One example is the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE) Thabiso Skills Institute, a ministry of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), which has quietly transformed the lives of thousands of unemployed young South Africans by helping them acquire practical skills and thus creating livelihoods.
Earlier this year, the institute celebrated another milestone in its partnership with a local financial institution, whose support has expanded occupational skills training and entrepreneurship programmes for young people. As the Church reflects on World Youth Skills Day, that celebration has taken on renewed significance.
Vocational education
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, young people between the ages of 15 and 34 account for just over half of the country’s working-age population—around 20.9 million people. Yet the official unemployment rate among this group stands at 46.1%, having increased steadily over the past decade. Young people aged 15 to 24 continue to face the greatest barriers to entering the labour market.
Against this backdrop, vocational education has become more than an alternative to a university education. It has become a lifeline.
“We became aware that there were many adult education and skills centres operating on Catholic-owned properties throughout South Africa,” explained Nathan Johnston, who oversees the work of the CIE Thabiso Skills Institute.
He added, “The real impact of our work is when young people become economically active … What young people really need are people who listen to their stories, coach them, mentor them and help connect them with organisations that can support their businesses,” Johnstone said. ing to their communities.
Lives transformed
The impact is perhaps best seen in the lives of graduates.
Patricia Topsile-Machangu, founder of Mkhesha Hair Bar Trading, credits the institute with helping transform a small business into an expanding enterprise rooted in traditional African hair care products.
“The training helped me build my business,” she said.
By investing in people rather than simply programmes, the Church seeks to ensure that young people are not defined by unemployment statistics but by their potential.
Source link
