- as it shapes the future of youth
- through its LHDA Young Professionals Programme
IN an effort to equip youth graduates with practical skills and address the skills and experience gap for youth, the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) is recruiting and training youth under its LHDA Young Professionals Development Programme.
The programme is a skills development initiative targeted at graduates who have successfully completed tertiary education in fields relevant to the LHDA.
The programme recruits youth under the age of 35 years, across Lesotho and South Africa, and builds on a rich legacy of predecessor initiatives under Phase I, that boast vital contribution to the successful development of talent that ultimately rose to the ranks of the LHDA’s present leadership, including amongst others the current Chief Executive, Mr Tente Tente, and the Divisional Manager responsible for Phase II, Mr Ntsoli Maiketso.
Designed as a skills development initiative, the programme equips graduates with practical skills, through on-the-job training and mentorship.
It is a two-year initiative aimed at addressing the skills and experience gap for youth, thus preparing them for future employability, after the programme.
According to the LHDA Human Resources Manager, Mrs Mahlompho Lefoka, “The Programme, contributes to the development of a sustainable human capital, by ensuring a constant pool of critical skills aligned with the LHDA’s strategic imperatives.”
It also contributes to the wider developmental needs of both countries for competent and job-ready young professionals.
Through implementation of Phase II, and with the ongoing construction and consultancy contracts, sixty (60) graduates have been enrolled to date, affording them a chance to work alongside experts in various fields related to project management and consulting, resettlement, social development, environmental management, design and construction supervision of roads, bridges, housing, bulk power infrastructure, and dam and tunnel construction.
One of the beneficiaries of the programme, Nthisana Matasane, who works at LHDA as an Assistant Community Participation officer, said the programme helped her gained experience by giving her an opportunity to receive first-hand mentorship from some of the best experts in the field.
Ms Matasane who holds a BA Urban and Regional Planning from the National University of Lesotho (NUL), was attached to Lima-Thaha Joint Venture, a consultant contracted for professional Services of Resettlement Planning and Implementation of the Polihali Site Establishment and Reservoir Area.
“The programme introduced me to an industry with professional specialists in my field of study, giving me an opportunity to receive first-hand mentorship from some of the best experts in the field,” she said.
“This has contributed to my professional growth immensely, my confidence in the workplace, as well as building a professional network in the construction industry.
“I was fresh out of university, volunteering at the Maseru City Council when I applied for the programme. When I saw an advert on the programme online, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to help me advance my career.”
Giving her testimony, another beneficiary, Mamonaheng Rapapa who holds a BSc in Civil Engineering, from the University of the Witwatersrand, said she joined the programme in 2020 and that it was a great opportunity for her to start with a highly technical and large-scale project so early in her career.
“I started with the construction of the access road project known as Polihali Western Access Road (PWAR) East-West.
“I was part of the program as an intern for a short but wonderful period and was soon absorbed by the company that was mentoring me, to become part of their site team as an inspector, at that time the company in question was AECOM,” Ms Rapapa said.
“After gaining a great deal of experience in transportation engineering, a new opportunity came, for me to be a part of the construction of the Polihali dam and its appurtenances. At this time, I joined LYMA Consulting Engineers as a Junior Civil Engineer and to be part of site supervision staff at Matla-a-Metsi joint venture.
“The program has been a great networking and skills development tool…it has given me a foot in through the door and the rest was up to me to utilize all the opportunities associated with it.”
In addition to on-site experience and mentoring, an added advantage for participation in the programme, is the embedded requirement to have all participants professionally register and acquire accreditation with their respective professional bodies.
“Professional Registration remains a necessary competency scale on which any professional can be gauged, we therefore pursue compliance and commitment on the part of our mentors and mentees to achieve such status, for the benefit of our Young Professionals” said the Divisional Manager Phase II, Mr Ntsoli Maiketso.
LHDA Chief Executive Officer, LHDA Tente Tente said they aim is to produce professionals who will be competitive in the world of work.
“We aim to produce professionals who will be competitive globally, not just in Lesotho and South Africa,” Mr Tente said.
“The Programme has engaged some of the best and brightest young minds who are advancing their skills to lead, influence decisions and provide expertise in future massive engineering projects. Professionals who will be able to respond to the water infrastructure and water resources management challenges brought by climate change.”
The International Labour Organization (ILO) Report on Decent Work Country Programme 2018/19 – 2022/23, estimates youth unemployment in Lesotho at 32.3%, and cites a persistent mismatch between the skills needed by the labour market and those that are produced. As a result, qualified graduates are not easily absorbed by the labour market, due to lack of required job skills.
Therefore, initiatives such as the LHDA Young Professionals Development Programme, provide a unique opportunity for young inexperienced graduates to advance their careers and acquire skill sets required by the job market.
They are a critical platform and catalyst for skills development for those with professional qualifications.
