GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES A MASSIVE SKILLS PROGRAMME

By Teddy Gomba

• Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi inaugurated a significant skills training initiative at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
• The program, named iCrush ne Lova Jobs and Skills Programme, will receive funding from the provincial government, the Department of Employment and Labour, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), amounting to R8.2 billion from Minister Nxesi’s department.
• Aimed at uplifting Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries and enhancing skill levels across sectors such as construction, engineering, aviation, and entrepreneurship, the initiative targets job creation for approximately 480,000 individuals, according to Premier Lesufi. He emphasised the government’s commitment to lifting nearly half a million unemployed individuals out of poverty and onto a path of human development.

Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, and Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi, launched a large-scale skills training program at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.

The program will be jointly funded by the provincial government, the Department of Employment and Labour, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The program will receive an investment of R8.2 billion from Nxesi’s department.

The initiative aims to uplift Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries and increase skill levels in the province.

Speaking during a media announcement of the iCrush ne Lova Jobs and Skills Programme, Lesufi said that through this program, the government wants to provide jobs for 480,000 individuals by bridging the skills gap in sectors like construction, engineering, aviation, and entrepreneurship.

“We are not taking 100 000, we are not taking under 200 000, we are not taking under 400 000; we are taking almost 500 000 unemployed people out of poverty and placing them on the path of human development,” he said.

“We are going to be one province that will tell our president thank you so much for your R350 grant; we are taking R400,000 from that grant, and we are giving our people a better life.”

Lesufi encouraged unemployed youth to apply, with applications open at schools and community halls.

The launch of iCrush ne Lova is a follow-on program by the Gauteng Provincial Government called Nasi Spani, which has seen more than 40,000 young people being employed permanently or in contract positions in various state institutions in the province.

Picture by Kedi Dube