Johannesburg – As unemployment, especially amongst young people, remains a big challenge for global economies, the Gauteng Provincial Government has decided to increase the number of youth enterprise township hubs to help tackle the scourge.
Tabling the Gauteng Economic Development budget vote on Thursday, MEC Nkosiphendule Kolisile said the hubs were just some of several interventions that the province would implement to eradicate unemployment and boost the economy.
This comes days after Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said that unemployment in the province – South Africa’s economic hub – had dropped.
“During 2013, the department will focus on increasing the number of township enterprise hubs.
“These hubs will cater for the youth, women, people with disabilities, small businesses and cooperatives. The hubs will provide shared manufacturing facilities training support, capacity building and incubation to start-ups,” he said.
Kolisile said, meanwhile, that other initiatives that the department would carry out in the 2013/14 financial year would include giving young people training opportunities that would be offered through various public-private partnerships with companies in different sectors - from the automotive, manufacturing and textile to furniture and technology partners.
“In a bid to impart artisan skills to the youth, the department, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry… and the Tooling Association of South Africa, has embarked on a tooling training programme offered by four Further Education and Training institutions located in various areas of Gauteng, such as Kempton Park, KwaThema and Tshwane.
“There are currently over 200 young people participating in this training and will graduate in June 2014,” he said.
He said other programmes, such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme, would be implemented in the new financial year.
The programme, which is run internally, was designed to help young people develop entrepreneurial skills and business support.
“The Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) intends producing at least 1 000 new youth owned businesses in the 2013/14 financial year.
“We believe these interventions will complement and increase and increase the impact of the 5 200 jobs already created as well as the 21 680 jobs sustained by GEP interventions since the establishment of the agency in 2005,” Kolisile said. – SAnews.gov.za
