A new interactive online platform is designed to prepare students, graduates and young people interested in automotive component manufacturing careers for a real-life workplace.
The initiative aims to strengthen the market relevance of the technical and vocational, education and training (TVET) college system by enabling greater industry involvement in course design and delivery, and has recently launched an online learning and career guidance platform.
Yakhi’iFuture, meaning ‘build your future’, was developed by High Gear, a collaborative skills development initiative managed by the International Youth Foundation, or IYF, aimed at advancing South Africa’s public TVET college system. The National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM) and the Department of Higher Education and Training are High Gear’s lead national partners.
“We are hoping this website can serve as a model for other industry associations to develop similar career guidance resources for TVET students,” says High Gear programme director Colin Hagans.
“Yakh’iFuture will be an ever-evolving online career experience platform that equips, inspires and connects young people to the automotive components manufacturing sector. It will enable students and graduates to complement their studies, access work opportunities, network with potential employers and work with confidence once they reach the workplace,” Hagans adds.
The youth-facing career platform will be accessible to all young people, not just TVET students. “There will be no logins required and we aim to get the site zero-rated, so even interested young people with no data will be able to use it to build their future,” says NAACAM commercial director Shivani Singh.
The resource will showcase various roles in the automotive component manufacturing industry, from entry level to senior roles, as well as showing career pathways and key competencies required for each path. Students and other young people will also be able to develop and practice gamified competencies to stay sharp and bring their studies to practical life while they engage in a job search journey. Students and young people will be able to post questions to potential employers and search for job opportunities via the platform. Opportunities from the Office of the Presidency’s SAyouth.mobi platform will be linked, as part of High Gear’s intention is to address rising youth unemployment and the skills shortage restricting career options for the country’s youth.
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