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EXSA was extremely fortunate to be invited to join the Services Seta on a career exhibition journey. We visited the most beautiful areas in the Cape and local government were so accommodating, voicing the need to educate the youth as to various career paths, even in areas not close to central Cape Town. The three places visited were Caledon, Villiersdorp and Grabouw. These youngsters had not really been exposed to neither events nor exhibitions.  They were so excited to see the various career paths they could pursue.

The eventing and exhibition career path is a combination of formal qualifications and skills needed to navigate this exciting industry.  Project management, event management, design, rigging and Public Relations are some of the qualifications they can do and then skills based programmes such as first aid, health and safety, electrical and construction among many others.  Most of these skills and programmes are offered through Services Seta and learners can apply for funding through them as well, we are in the process of formulating a formal mentorship programme.

During the week of the 8th May Finance Magnates hosted an International Exhibition in South Africa for the first time.  EXSA was very privileged to partner with them for this exhibition and it was a great success.  Through Services Seta we invited 2 learners to come and see how an exhibition with an event is put together as well as learn from the stakeholders present about the world of finance.  The learners were pleasantly surprised to learn how much planning and work is done to arrive at the finished product that the visitor and client gets to see. It was amazing to be able to show both Services Seta representatives and the learners how vibrant and exciting the industry is, even though it is hard work.

On Friday the 12th May we joined forces with Services Seta again for a career Exhibition in Cosmo City where there were around 750 learners from various schools. Again, they had no real idea of what the career was about, nor did they know what they were going to do after school, nor started planning for the most part. This is where there is a gaping hole in youth development, they go through 12 years of schooling but don’t know what they want to do, they also have no funds for tertiary education and sometimes not the marks needed to get into certain courses. Seeing the harsh reality is very sad, so the skills training that Services Seta is offering is so valuable and hopefully the learners will take the opportunities offered and grow themselves.

South African Creative Conferences invited EXSA to partake as a key note speaker at a Music Business Symposium, in conjunction with CCIFSA, The Cultural & Creatives Federation of SA. This was to educate the youth wanting to break into the music industry and how they go about it.  EXSA’s segment was on event planning and management. It was a great event and the youth learnt from a whole array of professionals.  This gives them tools to move in the right direction and ways in which to develop their talents and grasp opportunities available to them, as well as encouraging them to network with professionals in their industry.

We believe that the way forward is communication in reaching youth that might not have open access to information.  The more we can spread advice and inspiration, the more we can motivate the youth to enter careers and not believe school is the end of their learning. We are so grateful to have been able to partner with the bodies that approached us and hope we can continue to work together as these youngsters  are the future of our country.