Learners from Engcobo and surrounding areas gained information about different careers by attending the Eastern Cape Career and Science Expo at Engcobo Village Senior Secondary School last week.
According to the founder of the Siyavuya Foundation, Siyavuya Mbete, the expo was attended by learners from Grade 7 to Grade 12 from Engcobo and the surrounding towns and villages.
The exhibitors included institutions of higher learning and various other organisations that aimed at showcasing their career opportunities.
Mbete said this was the second event they had hosted in that area.
“We approached the district director of the Chris Hani East Department of Education about this event. We then agreed that it should be hosted in Engcobo because it is central and easily accessible to the schools that we targeted. Now in its second year since establishment, this expo was first hosted in Engcobo in May 2021.”
Delivered in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Education, its primary objective is empowering learners, particularly in townships, and rural and remote areas of the Eastern Cape, through exposure to unique career opportunities seldom within their radar,” he said.
According to Mbete, education is an important investment for any country, particularly a developing nation such as South Africa.
Our country is characterised by vast rural and remote communities that have limited information at their disposal.
“Education is a powerful driver of development and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty.
“The country grapples with high unemployment statistics, with the Eastern Cape topping the list.”
Informed by trends and marketplace demands, the Career & Science Expo aims at steering learners towards careers that are scarce and considered critical skills, such as careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), finance, health, and many others which are in high demand.
Mbete said some of the challenges that were facing learners in the Eastern Cape were that they were living in rural areas and it was hard for them to have access to the internet and to get information.
Eastern Cape MEC for Education, Fundile Gade, said the career expo they held was trying to show these learners how they should identify career goals at an earlier stage but also gave clarity in terms of how educational content related to the career fields that they might be interested in studying towards.
