Ishekeng Edu Tours hosted a two-day Career Expo at Giant Stadium in Soshanguve, in partnership with stakeholders including the Tshwane University of Technology, the Department of Home Affairs, Gautrain, Tourvest, Katekani Community Project, the City of Tshwane Municipality, Aviation, and the South African Police Service (SAPS), along with various universities and colleges.
The event aimed to educate students from Hammanskraal, Soshanguve, and Mabopane under the slogan #FINDYOURPOTENTIAL.
Lehlogonolo Marokane, one of the event organisers from Itshekeng Educational Tours, explained, “We organised this event for the youth of Tshwane, particularly those from Mabopane, Hammanskraal, and Soshanguve, inviting unemployed graduates, university dropouts, and high school learners to learn about the different career opportunities available to them.” She added, “Companies showcased their offerings and informed the youth about career choices, learnerships, scholarships, and bursaries. I believe the event was a success.”
According to Marokane, the goal was to inform as many young people as possible about the opportunities available to them by bringing together colleges, universities, and companies from various sectors, and she believes they successfully achieved this.
She also shared that Itshekeng Educational Tours specialises in work-integrated learning, placing university and college students in positions that provide the work experience required to complete their qualifications. Additionally, they organise career guidance events for high school students. Marokane concluded by noting that this event was the first of many, with plans to make it an annual event. More information will be available on their website.
Thabang Leshabane, Programme Manager for Gender-Based Violence and Femicide at Katekani Community Project, whose organisation was also invited, said, “We are here to provide career guidance to learners in grades 9 and 10, helping them make informed decisions about their future careers and subject choices so that when they reach university, they can align their studies with what they have learned from grade 10 onwards.”
He further emphasised, “While it’s important to prepare learners academically, we also address the social issues they face at school.
“We are conducting awareness on gender-based violence and, in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, identifying learners who are victims of GBV and linking them with school-based social workers in the Tshwane West and North districts.
“We are conducting awareness on gender-based violence and, in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, identifying learners who are victims of GBV and linking them with school-based social workers in the Tshwane West and North districts.”
Mr Leshabane concluded by expressing that he believed the event was valuable, as many learners showed enthusiasm and appreciated the firsthand information they received.
He noted that those who were unable to attend missed out significantly, as many students choose university courses that are not aligned with their personalities, leading to frequent changes and resulting in wasted government resources, particularly for students dependent on NSFAS.
One of the school learners who attended the career expo, Kgomotso Chebeso, shared, “I learned about many things today, including airplanes and forces, and I realised that there are so many things to appreciate in life. However, I couldn’t find a career path for myself because the focus was mainly on students pursuing science streams and subjects in high school.”
