BRICK-MAKING NOT SEXY ENOUGH FOR JOBLESS SA YOUTH

As
unemployment and a skills shortage among South African youth continue to cause
concern, some young people shun gaining skills in the industries they do not
consider “sexy”, such as brick-making.

Last
Wednesday cement producer PPC Cement hosted a brick-making workshop in Mamelodi
East, Tshwane, which was aimed at developing the skills of local youth and
assisting them so they could participate meaningfully in the economy and escape
poverty, said PPC’s plant manager, Boitumelo Mnisi.

Despite
advertising the free workshop on local media – including Mams FM, the
community’s radio station – the turn-out by South African youth was
unsatisfactory. Instead, foreigner nationals, mainly from Mozambique, seemed to
derive a lot of value from the skills workshop.

James
Nyandoro, an owner of brick-marking plant who originates from Mozambique, found
the workshop to be highly beneficial and said he had improved his skills.

Asked why
only a few of his young South Africans counterparts attended these workshops,
Nyandoro – who has been in the country since 2001 – shrugged and said: “They
(South Africans) don’t like these kinds of job and say it’s difficult. They are
scared of it.”

Joao
Fulani, also from Mozambique, said he started working as a brick-maker in 2006
until the local owner of the plant gave it to him to run as his own business.
He also found the training to be beneficial and learnt new skills.

He said
many people at the workshop were foreigners. “There are few South Africans who
make bricks. I think the reason is that brick-making is a hard job and requires
you to be committed. You will hear a young South African say this job
ngeyabobhari (is fools’ work) and refuse to participate.

“If you
know that you have suffered and you want to provide for your family, you cannot
afford to be choosy when it comes to employment,” said Fulani.

Mnisi played down the low uptake by South African youth and said even if the majority of attendees were foreigners, “what matters is that they will assist in producing better-quality bricks, which will be used by locals to build our country”.https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/brick-making-not-sexy-enough-for-jobless-south-african-youth-27250024