A youth seminar to empower those from disadvantaged communities was held in Menlyn yesterday by the Department of Public Works, the Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala and Deputy Minister Bernice Swartz.
The seminar is part of the department's initiative, which aims to bridge the skills gap.
The platform aims to foster an open dialogue between industry stakeholders, the department, and the burgeoning talents within the young professional cohort, exploring industry challenges and opportunities.
Zikalala said the purpose of the Young Professionals programme is to address the skills shortages occurring in the built environment industry and to build skills capacity for the industry to be able to cope with the challenges.
“This seminar aims to engage industry players, the department and young professionals on a variety of issues in the built environment,” he said.
During the seminar, a wide range of training disciplines pertaining to the built environment were covered, including engineering (civil, structural, transport, electrical, mechanical, chemical, and hydrology), construction management, quantity surveying, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, Property Studies, and interior design.
Zikalala further said the department adopted a built environment skills pipeline strategy which sought to improve the number of professionals with scarce skills in career fields pertaining to engineering and the built environment.
“The intention is to ensure an increase of the number of young professionals within the built environment, but mainly to empower and uplift those who come from disadvantaged communities,” he added.
A robust engagement was also conducted with the minister and deputy minister among the young professionals still enrolled in the programme, as well as those who have successfully completed the programme.
The minister also unveiled the skills pipeline programme and opportunities given to thousands of deserving students and professionals. They are being trained to support the industry struggling with scarce skills and are being supported to pursue careers within the built environment.
“South Africa’s development prospects, especially in the construction, engineering, and infrastructure roll-out, are heavily reliant on the availability of skills and young professionals to drive the country’s growth agenda,” he said.
Pretoria News
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