Western Cape Department of Social Development partners with Africa Skills to bring hope and opportunities to vulnerable children
On 16 January 2025, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) launched its partnership with Africa Skills, a private training college in George.
Through this partnership, children from DSD’s Outeniekwa Child and Youth Care Centre (CYCC) will get learning and bursary opportunities through Africa Skills.
The department manages seven residential Child and Youth Care Centres which offer varying levels of care to sentenced or awaiting trial children and youth, or those with severe behavioural challenges.
One of the beneficiaries (who cannot be named to protect his identity) said this will change his life, “I am the first one in my family to get an opportunity like this, so I won’t take it for granted. This will have a big impact on my future. I’m the oldest of three brothers, so it will also have a huge impact on them.”
Another beneficiary said, “I’ve seen a lot at the Africa Skills campus that will help me change my future because when I was outside [of Outeniekwa] I didn’t get the chance to change. Here I can learn a skill that will help me find a job so I can stand on my own two feet.”
Africa Skills offers a range of accredited artisan trade courses, such as boilermaking, plumbing, and automotive mechanics.
Africa Skills CEO Elsie Harmse said, “It is always said that one’s past should not determine one’s future. This is true but understanding and embracing challenging pasts is the foundation on which this partnership is built. Africa Skills will ensure that we continue to change the future, and what better way than ensuring a holistic approach is taken, to develop youth that can take South Africa to even greater heights. This partnership has the power to help people find their true purpose and bury the hardships of the past.”
Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Jaco Londt, set this partnership in motion when he visited the Africa Skills George Tech in July last year.
“I knew there was a way for the department to take hands with Africa Skills, for the benefit of the many young people we serve. Child and youth care workers and social workers will support the students, so that they can get the necessary psychosocial support they need to deal with any challenges that may arise during their studies – as is the procedure with other residents at DSD CYCCs. An occupational therapist at Outeniekwa will take the lead with this programme, to ensure job-readiness.”
Minister Londt adds the partnership is also aimed at breaking the cycle of social ills such as poverty, unemployment, and crime that plague many of the children at Outeniekwa.
“This is a chance for them to carve out a new path, a path that may lead them out of the circumstances that brought them to the CYCC in the first place. Education and skills development go hand in hand with job creation. That is the goal, to make these young people employable, so they may create a better future for themselves and their families. It is the start of a journey of hope and dignity for them, and we want to say thank you to Africa Skills for taking hands with us.”
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Media enquiries:
Monique Mortlock-Malgas
Media Liaison Officer: Ministry
Department of Social Development