R7.9bn to skill 160 000 unemployed KZN youth

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

About 160 000 unemployed youth in KwaZulu-Natal are set to benefit from an investment of R7.9 billion in new training programmes.

The training programmes are spearheaded by the Department of Labour's Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Compensation Fund (CF).

They have partnered with 32 State-owned training providers and institutions that will roll out the programmes over a three-year period.

The learners, who will consist of the youth, CF and UIF beneficiaries, will undergo training that will equip them with skills to compete in the labour market or venture into starting their own businesses.

“The training will include theoretical and practical training and learners will receive monthly stipends. The training will include skills programmes, learnerships and artisanship,” the Department of Labour said on Tuesday.

The launch of the training programmes is in line with the commitments of the Jobs Summit that was led by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018.

The UIF is funding the training through its Labour Activation Programmes (LAP) unit, which focuses on mitigating the negative effects of retrenchments, enhancing employability, enabling entrepreneurship and job preservation.

The CF is funding the programmes under their Vocational Rehabilitation Programme, which seeks to overcome barriers for injured and subsequently disabled workers, who return to work or are accessing work for the first time. It aims to capacitate occupationally injured and diseased employees, and youth.

The programmes will be launched by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant and Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. - SAnews.gov.za