Moroke Sekoboto
THE SOS Children’s Village has launched a project meant to promote entrepreneurship among the youth and improve their chances of getting employed.
About 174 young people aged between 15 and 35 will participate in the 2024 edition of the project dubbed the Youth Can initiative.
The initiative is part of a global partnership to improve the employability of young people. It aims to promote a strong alliance between non-governmental organizations, the private sector, government, and young people eager to advance in life.
Addressing the launch ceremony in Maseru on Friday, the SOS Children’s Village Alternative Care Coordinator, ‘Mamatete Letsoso, said the project offered a range of skill building opportunities for young people.
These ranged from acquiring hands on experience in a real working environment at some of the SOS Children’s Village partners in the country as well as access to role models through mentors’ entrepreneurship training.
A digital platform, the YouthLinks Community, will enable participants in the initiative to link with trusted volunteers and mentors. It will also act as a content library, in addition to supporting skills development sessions with mentors.
The SOS Children’s Village main mission is to support children in need and help them shape their own futures and share in the development of their communities.
As such the Youth Can project will target young people, who have lost parental care or are at risk of losing parental care.
It will expose participants to mentorship programs and work experience through job shadowing.
“SOS Children’s Village intents to build a local and global network of partners to tackle youth unemployment in our target group…..,” Ms Letsoso said.
Another SOS Children’s Village official, Lineo Manyeli, said the Youth Can initiative would ensure that young people were empowered with the necessary skills to enable them to live an independent successful life.
“Through the Youth Can project, young people get opportunities to improve their employability by equipping them with the skills and professional interactions needed to prepare them for the world of work,” Ms Manyeli said.
“The programme is designed to support young people as they make transition from education to the world of employment, building their self-confidence in the process.”
