Africa-Press – Botswana. Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs, Ms Lesego Chombo, has raised concern over findings that many young people remained unemployed, not because of a lack of skills, but due to difficulties in navigating the job application process.
Speaking at a Youth Employability Training workshop recently in Hukuntsi, she said the programme aimed to empower youth with essential skills to thrive in the world of work and contribute to national development.
“The training will teach you how to do interviews with confidence, how to write a compelling CV, and how to present yourself with professionalism and etiquette,” she said.
The training was hosted in partnership with United Nations Children’s Frund (UNICEF) under its Generation Unlimited (GenU) initiative, a global multi-sector programme that seeks to ensure that by 2030, every young person was either in school, learning, training, or employed.
Ms Chombo said the initiative focused on connectivity, entrepreneurship, skills for employment, and social impact, noting that while some youth would enter the job market, others were expected to create opportunities through entrepreneurship.
“True leadership is about lifting others as you rise,” she told the participants, while also reminding them that their dreams were valid and attainable.
She said that youth unemployment remained a tough challenge that government could not tackle alone, hence partnerships with UNICEF, sister ministries, the private sector, and the youth.
She further urged youth to understand that they were not only job seekers, but were also nation builders who should seize every opportunities.
The minister also highlighted existing skills gaps in the economy and noted that government was strengthening the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system to align with national priorities. She encouraged young people to take advantage of training opportunities relevant to their communities and the country at large.
“Sometimes one skill, one training or one opportunity can open door of opportunities.
Ms Chombo shared that since June, the ministry rolled out a training in Good Hope, Shoshong, and Mahalapye, with Hukuntsi being the latest stop.
She said that plans were underway to extend the programme to Tsabong, Bobonong, and Tonota, as part of efforts to ensure that rural areas were not left behind.
“Youth in rural areas deserve the same training, access, and preparation as those in the city,” she emphasized.
“At the close of the training, participants were assured they would be added to a dedicated WhatsApp group, where continuous job and training opportunities would be shared,” she shared
In his welcome remarks, Kgosi Merapelo Tshweneyagae highlighted the pressing challenge of high unemployment in the district, noting that no major projects were initiated in the past five years.
He said the absence of factories and limited number of shops in the area worsened shortage of job opportunities.
Kgosi Tshweneyagae said contribute to social challenges such as alcohol abuse, unplanned pregnancies, and gender-based violence.
“These challenges have had a major impact on the future of our youth as they grow up in disgruntled families,” he said.
He commended the ministry for the workshop, which he said came at the right time, as most youth currently were employment.
He said teaching young people essential skills such as CV writing would improve their chances of finding employment.
Beyond that, he said the programme would empower them create jobs for themselves and others.
Kgosi Tshweneyagae linked the initiative to the government’s ongoing National Economic Transformation Programme, which called for citizen-driven ideas to propel the nation forward.
He commended Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs for selecting Hukuntsi among the villages to benefit from the training, urging participants to approach it with seriousness and commitment.
“Such opportunities come once in a lifetime. Use them wisely for your own benefit and that of your community,” he said.
Source: DAILYNEWS
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