Scores of matric learners attend City’s career expo
21 April 2017
Grade 12 learners from three high schools in Soweto were put within touching distance of their future when the City of Johannesburg hosted a career exhibition at the Diepkloof Community Hall this week.
The expo – which featured exhibitors such as Wits University, Rosebank College, Campus of Performing Arts, AFDA and the Johannesburg Emergency Management Services – was aimed at assisting learners to prepare for their future by choosing their own careers early.
The learners came from Bopasenatla, Namedi and Madibane high schools.
Zanele Molete of the City’s Citizen Relationship and Urban Management (CRUM) department in Region D, encouraged the learners to engage the exhibitors and get as much information as they possibly could so they could make informed decisions about their future careers.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from, it matters where you are going.” She said, however, that career education should not start when learners were in matric, but in earlier years.
Molete added that one’s background should not determine one’s destiny. “There are many career opportunities available within the City of Johannesburg. Become all that you can be,” said Molete.
Ntombizodwa Magabane of the Gauteng Department of Education encouraged the learners not to allow the challenges they faced to drag them down. “Our duty is to support you with various aspects of life. Everyone is here to guide you to successful careers,” said Magabane.
The City’s Petronela Mabuse spoke about opportunities available in the City. “The City of Johannesburg is an employer of choice. About 15% of the Class of 2017 will be employed by the City a few years from now,” said Mabuse.
She encouraged learners to take advantage of the City’s bursary opportunities.
The learners also had the opportunity to listen to motivational speaker and Wits University law graduate Almar Gumbo, who told them how she made it against all odds. “I grew up in a shebeen in Diepsloot and I am the sixth of 15 children,” said Gumbo.
“Don’t allow your circumstances to define you. There will be moments when you feel like giving up but just remember why you started and keep going,” said Gumbo.
The first to receive a university education in her family, Gumbo is working towards changing the lives of those close to her.
“I grew up in a home with broken windows, leaks in the roof and no door knobs. Today I’m proud to stand here and say I have changed all that. I’m showing my siblings who come after me that although you may not have control of where you are born, only you can craft your journey,” concluded Gumbo.
Matric pupil Matumelo Mofokeng said: “This expo will go a long way in helping us choose the right career.”
She added that she was truly inspired by Gumbo's story and hoped that one day she, too, would get to share her own story with learners.
“Almar has shown us that we can all make it in life through hard work and persistence,” she said.