Youth Month
The Western Cape Government values our youth and our budget allocations are geared towards creating opportunities.
Key youth initiatives include eLearning, apprenticeships and after school programmes – public schooling, bursaries and internships, and a range of facilities where youth can access opportunities. This includes libraries, youth cafés, Cape Access Centres and i-CAN centres.
To give our youth the best advantage, we want to improve the quality of education, especially in poorer communities. We also want to improve the number and quality of matric passes and the level of mathematics and language in schools. Youth development is a holistic approach and encourage skills development to prepare youths for the job market.
Youth Cafés across the Province provide opportunities to youth who is not engaged in education, employment and training to improve their employability and readiness for adulthood. The Cafés provide skills development and training on life skills, mentoring and coaching and leadership, as well as entrepreneurship and accredited formal training and job preparedness. Access has been extended to hearing impaired youth, with Youth Café staff undergoing accredited sign language course.
The Cape Youth at Work programme supplements the Youth Café programme, Ministerial Youth Outreach and other skills development programmes implemented by the Department of Social Development by providing both work preparation training and income related work opportunities to youth who have participated in these programmes.
The YearBeyond (YeBo) programme is the academic pillar of the MOD programme, which provides volunteer opportunities to over 100 young people in recipient communities every year. These opportunities expose youth extensive leadership training and various pathways into employment.
The Provincial Treasury identified skills shortages in the fields of Economics, Accounting, Finance and Auditing and launched two bursary programmes that address these shortages by providing the youth with the opportunity to access tertiary education. This year the Department will spend R2.7 million on bursaries and nearly R11 million on internships. Through bursaries and internships, the Provincial Treasury aims to create a talent pool of young people to fill positions where these scarce skills are needed.
The Provincial Treasury is also a SAICA registered training office for prospective chartered accountants. The Chartered Accountant Academy (CAA) was created to attract and retain the best finance and accounting professionals within the Western Cape Government.
The Department of Economic Development and Tourism received an allocation of R196.555 million over the 2019 MTEF towards the coordination, facilitation and implementation of skills development initiatives in the Province. These include, apprenticeships, artisan development, skills for the digital economy, financial and business sector skills, improving the quality of maths, science and engineering qualifications and developing entrepreneurial skills.
Over the 2019 MTEF, R210.455 million has been allocated to the Structured Agricultural Education and Training programme of the Department of Agriculture.
Improving education outcomes and opportunities for youth development, the Department of Education was allocated R75.251 billion to provide quality education. An additional R1.214 billion has been allocated to accommodate increasing service load pressures, as a result of the year-on-year increases in learner numbers in the Province. Teacher development programmes has been prioritised with an allocation of R337.932 million over the 2019 MTEF. The institutionalisation of e-Learning through the continued support of e-Infrastructure, e-Technology, e-Culture, e-Content and e-Admin programmes are prioritised. R283.159 million is allocated specifically towards the implementation of e-Learning, and R23.402 million for broadband access for e-Education over the 2019 MTEF.
Over the 2019 MTEF, R1.132 billion will be invested in Early Childhood Development and Partial Care by the Department of Social Development. Within the WCED emphasis will be placed on improving and expanding access to quality education in Grade R.
Improving teacher skills and their professional status, the WCED allocates a total of R2.310 billion towards ECD and Grade R expansion over the 2019 MTEF.
Safety in Schools: Safety initiatives has been allocated a budget of R112.518 million over the 2019 MTEF. These include the installation of secure perimeter fencing, restricted electronic access, monitored alarm systems, Safe Schools Call Centre, Walking Bus programme, Security Resilience Scorecard, and strategic partnerships between schools and communities.
R142.442 million has been allocated for the MOD Programme over the 2019 MTEF. The number of learners engaged in regular and consistent after school programmes has increased to from 14 900 in 2014/15 to 81 120 learners in 2018/19. R18 million has been earmarked over the 2019 MTEF for infrastructure maintenance and related costs at MOD Centres.
The YEBO programme is the academic pillar of the MOD programme, which provides volunteer opportunities to over 100 young people in recipient communities every year. To date, 61 per cent of the 2016 cohort of volunteers have transitioned into either employment or studies, and the remainder continue to volunteer. R40.278 million has been allocated over the 2019 MTEF for the YeBo programme.
Ean Steenkamp-Cairns
Head of Communication
Cell: 079 497 2039
E-mail: Ean.Steenkamp-Cairns@westerncape.gov.za