The inaugural event brought together an estimated 100 members of youth development NGOs, faith-based youth programme organisers and community development workers from the college’s geographical footprint in the Cape Town Metropole. The event was organised to strengthen college-community relationships and promote valuable training opportunities available to the organisations and their beneficiaries.
False Bay TVET College Principal and CEO, Cassie Kruger, explained the National Development Plan’s significance for the TVET sector. Kruger shared the college’s strategic approach to effectively contribute to the NDP’s goal of inclusive economic growth and development.
Josh Hansen, the Cape Town Operations Manager for Harambee, delivered an input titled ‘The Role of Social Media in Stakeholder Relations Management for NGOs and community structures’. Harambee is a youth employment accelerator that connects employers looking for entry-level talent with young, high-potential work-seekers who are currently locked out of the formal economy.
Jansen proactively builds awareness and trust among communities, engaging with stakeholders to build partnerships based on common values. Jansen shared his experiences with using social media as a highly cost-effective method of reaching prospective candidates.
False Bay TVET College Deputy Principal: Innovation and Development, Christiana Nel, shared upcoming funded training opportunities for unemployed youth. Nel urged guests to empower their members and beneficiaries by encouraging them to apply and join the college’s waiting lists for skills programmes with high employability rates.
In closing, Nel highlighted the numerous signed agreements the college had concluded with industry and SETAs. These included 129 hosting agreements with schools, financial services and insurance companies, engineering firms, retail stores and tourism businesses to aid the placement of students during and after their studies. False Bay TVET College achieved an 85.5% placement rate in 2016, demonstrating a 4.9% growth from the previous year’s 81% placement rate.
With the presentations concluded, the community development workers were taken on a tour of the Muizenberg and Westlake False Bay TVET College campuses to showcase the facilities and programmes available.
