Dr Rob Davies with Itukise participant Thuto Mapohoshe
Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Rob Davies has launched a R71-million internship programme for 1 200 unemployed graduates from various technical colleges at further education and training colleges across the country.
He explained at the launch of the programme, dubbed Itukise, at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology on Tuesday, that the initiative would see the Department of Trade and Industry engaging companies that had received various incentives from the department to provide relevant work experience to unemployed graduates for 12 months.
The programme would be implemented in three “waves” of intakes over two years, with the first wave taking place on April 1, the second on August 1 and the final wave on April 1 2015.
Particular focus would be placed on developing manufacturing-related and technical skills.
Skills development and the creation of opportunities for youth and graduates would go “a long way” in reducing the levels of poverty and unemployment in South Africa, Davies noted.
“Today, most companies are looking for a high-quality, skilled workforce and this makes it difficult for those without skills to find jobs in the labour market.
“Graduates represent a small, but important share of the human resource capacity [needed to work] towards [a] competitive and value-adding economy. Itukise will, thus, contribute to reducing the loss of investment in education,” he commented.
National Skills Fund CEO Mvuyisi Macikama added that there was a need to turn every workplace in South Africa into a training space to develop a skilled labour force.