South Africa invests in its own youth to improve skills shortage and institutional capacity
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in partnership with the Izakhiwo Imfundo Bursary Trust are set to invest in the youth of South Africa through scholarships, bursaries awards and loans for tertiary study research, teaching and post qualification training.
This partnership will be implemented through a Memorandum of Agreement signed by both parties where successful applicants to the Trust (undergraduates) from tertiary institutions in South Africa will receive financial aid from the Trust, while DWS will secure practical work for them with relevant local government structures after their graduation.
In addition successful applicants who have completed their formal studies but require practical training to complete their qualifications will be sponsored by the Trust as they complete their practical work exposure to be facilitated by the department.
This partnership comes hot on the heels of South Africa’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto Students’ Uprising. The events of June 16, forty years ago, were a demonstration of the tenacity and steadfastness of our youth in the fight against inferior education as a mechanism to perpetuate the inhuman system of apartheid.
Furthermore, this partnership resonates with government’s plans. It speaks to the issues that are held close to the heart and ideals enshrined in the National Development Plan 2030. It further enables South Africa to have its own specialists that will improve intuitional capacity and deal with the shortage of skills in the engineering and water sector.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942
