This initiative follows a resolution adopted during the September 2022 Ugu District Youth Indaba to host Youth Careers Exhibitions aimed at addressing the high rate of youth unemployment in the area through skills development. The Expo hosted by AgriSETA, focused on raising learners’ awareness about the vast career options available to them post-matric, as well as exposing the unemployed youth in the Ugu District Municipality to economic opportunities available to tap into.
Leaners were divided into groups, visiting each exhibition stall for an interactive 4-minute session. These brief, yet informative presentations, allowed for engaging dialogue and authentic connection.
FoICT's presence was a crowd puller, raising considerable interest with many attendees inquiring about specific courses and the potential career paths in the ICT sphere. Learners and industry partners were equally interested in how the ICT domain can bridge the gap between agriculture and ICT. “Attendees obtained first-hand information on how the skills they acquire at the FoICT, including information about the most recent cutting-edge technologies, could be integrated with the agricultural sector,” said Matthews Mfati, Postgraduate student from FoICT’s Department of Computer Systems Engineering. He formed part of a group who displayed innovative tech products that can be integrated with the agricultural section. These include a smart greenhouse system, incubator system, conveyor system, agricultural drone, intelligent weed detection and a smart home automation system.
“The Expo made much needed information available to the learners, including available ICT courses and careers prospects in the field. Without the support of Dr Etienne van Wyk, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of ICT, this would not have been possible” said Thom Leholo, technician and lecturer at the Department of Computer Systems Engineering.