{"id":86796,"date":"2026-04-16T10:28:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:28:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:28:42","slug":"650-youth-gain-practical-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills","title":{"rendered":"650 YOUTH GAIN PRACTICAL SKILLS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span><b>A total of 650 youth graduated from the International Youth Fellowship (IYF) Academy during its fourth intake ceremony held at The Institution in Two Sticks in Manzini on April 13, 2026 where government officials, partners, and community members gathered to mark a significant milestone in youth skills development and employment creation in Eswatini.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The graduation comes at a time when the country continues to prioritise youth empowerment as a strategy to tackle unemployment and stimulate economic growth. The IYF Academy programme is designed to equip young people with hands-on, practical skills that can be directly applied in the job market or used to start small businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Minister of Education and Training, Owen Nxumalo, urged the graduates to use their training to build sustainable livelihoods and contribute to national development. \u201cDo not look down upon yourselves. You have the ability to create opportunities and uplift your families,\u201d he said, adding that skills development remains key to unlocking the country\u2019s economic potential.<\/p>\n<p>The graduates underwent intensive training in various technical and vocational fields, including welding, sewing, plumbing, electrical installation, auto mechanics, cellphone repair, and graphic design. These sectors are widely recognised for their potential to absorb labour and promote entrepreneurship, particularly among young people.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond technical training, the programme also emphasised discipline, work ethic, and entrepreneurship, preparing graduates to navigate both formal employment and self-employment opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>One of the graduates, Vusi Kunene, who specialised in computer and cellphone repair, said the programme has already had a positive impact on his business. \u201cThe training will really help as I managed to add repair services at the shop. This helps grow revenue because Hlathikhulu doesn\u2019t have much buying power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The IYF Academy continues to play a crucial role in building a skilled, confident, and self-reliant generation, supporting Eswatini\u2019s broader vision of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Eswatini<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Eswatini. A total of 650 youth graduated from the International Youth Fellowship (IYF) Academy during its fourth intake ceremony held at The Institution in Two Sticks in Manzini on April 13, 2026 where government officials, partners, and community members gathered to mark a significant milestone in youth skills development and employment creation in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":86795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-86796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>650 YOUTH GAIN PRACTICAL SKILLS - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"650 YOUTH GAIN PRACTICAL SKILLS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Eswatini. A total of 650 youth graduated from the International Youth Fellowship (IYF) Academy during its fourth intake ceremony held at The Institution in Two Sticks in Manzini on April 13, 2026 where government officials, partners, and community members gathered to mark a significant milestone in youth skills development and employment creation in [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-16T10:28:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"650 YOUTH GAIN PRACTICAL SKILLS\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-16T10:28:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills\"},\"wordCount\":321,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2026\/04\/sm_1776327146.948085.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/650-youth-gain-practical-skills\",\"name\":\"650 YOUTH GAIN PRACTICAL SKILLS - 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