Africa-Press – Botswana. A positive mindset that is focused on growth, learning and resilience can help young people to overcome challenges and reach their goals.
That is according to the UNICEF educational specialist, Ms Leseka Mukokomani who was addressing about 200 young people at a two-day Generation Unlimited (genU) workshop in Francistown on August 14.
Ms Mukokomani encouraged participants to embrace a growth mindset and focus on developing resilience in order to bounce back from setbacks.
“This means that you should use challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than as failures.
The mindset that young people have can definitely be a factor in their success and failure. It is very important for genU to have these young people empowered to be agents of change in order to have an impact in their communities,” she said.
She also advised them to find mentors and role models who would support and inspire them on their journey.
For his part, acting deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Bonnie Jim addressed the participants on the importance of appearance which he said built on a particular perspective.
Mr Jim told them that appearance was a factor in the job search process, saying “it is important for job seekers to dress and groom themselves in a way that is appropriate for the workplace and convey a professional image. This includes making sure that their clothes are clean and well-fitting and their hair and makeup are neat and professional.”
He also appealed to the participants to desist from what he termed ‘digital dirt’ adding that it was important for people, especially young people, to be aware of their digital footprint and how it can affect their professional and personal lives.
He reminded them that recruiters and hiring managers often checked applicants’ digital footprints as part of the job application process.Francistown district commissioner, Ms Chabongwa Matsheka explained that youth employability trainings were a partnership between government through the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ministry of Youth, Gender Sport and Culture and United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Botswana Innovation and Digital Hub and ABSA Bank Botswana and other key strategic partners.
Ms Matsheka indicated that the overall youth unemployment rate in Botswana in 2022 was reported to be at 34.4 per cent.
“I am therefore delighted to have the district host this event as it is critical in empowering and enhancing the competitiveness of the young people in Francistown to advance their job search and improving their personal brands to better appeal to prospective employers,” she said.
She encouraged the participants to take advantage of the opportunity to fully engage and tap into the existing opportunities and programmes being offered during the two-day training workshop.
One of the participants, an 18-year-old, Phetogo Kerobotswe from Mmadinare welcomed the workshop as a good initiate that was timely given the challenges, among them unemployment, that young people in the country were faced with.
Kerobotswe said the workshop was an eye-opener and a learning curve in refining her business of selling food.
Participants were taken through various topics which included how to use the Botswana Labour Market Observatory Systems for self-employment training job markets across the board and creating employment through sustainable entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, genU is the UN initiative that aim to help young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years to achieve their full potential.
The programme offers a range of services and support, including access to education, training and employment opportunities, as well as social and educational support.
The goal is to help young people to be successful in their lives and to be seen as positive contributors in their communities.
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