Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) published youth unemployment results which are sitting at a gloomy rate of 63.2% for those aged 15-24 years in comparison with 25-34-year olds at a rate of 41.2%.
Waterfall Office Park, Midrand is home to Atamelang Foundation, a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) that administers skills training and development programmes to youth. Atamelang was founded in 2015 and previously provided training in mining and agriculture.
After being funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development under the programme Welfare-to-Work (W2WP) in 2019, they embarked on providing skills training in these sectors: Information Communication and Technology (ICT), Real Estate, Hospitality and Hairdressing.
Atamelang is equipped with four development centres in Midrand, Northcliff, Randburg and Alberton to meet learning needs of Gauteng youth. Allowing them a chance to be less burdened at school, students receive transport allowance and adequate meals daily.
However, there are minimum students hailing from Tshwane, Sedibeng and West Rand. When asked about this situation, Barabara Dube, Project Manager, cited distance and commuting challenges experienced by students. This NPO offers an in-house Social Worker, who rotationally visits centres to offer students psycho-social support and welcomes intervention from GDSD such as food parcel delivery, sanitary pads and other interventions.
What they found to be challenging is youth above 30, eagerly seeking employment more than learning skills and ultimately leaving before the one-year duration course ends at sight of greener pastures. Come April, 2021/2022 intake will commence with 231 enrolled students.
Once in-service and theoretic training are completed within sectors, students are in possession of accredited NQF level 4 certificates except Hairdressing with NQF level 2. To date, they have trained 340 students, with some becoming employers, employees and active job seekers receiving support from Atamelang.
"It is our passion to see the lives of the youth changing" said Dube.