Ten pupils from St Andrew’s Technical High School in Elsies River toured a new housing construction site in Fisantekraal, near Durbanville, yesterday as part of Youth Month, to encourage them to take up careers in the building and construction
sectors.
Comprising five girls - Samantha Reinders, Anastasia Hendriks, Jamie-Lee Overmeyer, Destiny Everts and Jodene Wepene - and five boys - Immanuel Mangaliso Frans, Lucky Maci, Jermain Madeca, Selwano Mias and Keanan Vlotman - the pupils are aged between 16 and 18 and in grade 10 to 12.
Due to their interest in careers in the civil, electrical and other engineering fields, the pupils were invited by the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) and the Cell C telecommunications company to tour the site.
NHBRC marketing representative Agnes van den Berg said the tour was originally meant to take place to celebrate Take A Girl Child to Work Day on May 25, but was postponed to yesterday due to unforeseen circumstances.
Before the tour, the learners’ principal, Peter Oliver, explained that his school was situated in a gang-infested area, plagued by the usual drug and other criminal activities that made teaching and learning difficult for his teachers and pupils.
“But pupils, such as the 10 we have taken to a building site. The teachers and the learners have refused to allow themselves to become overwhelmed by these challenges,” he said.
“Seeing that this is Youth Month, the aim of this exercise is to ensure that today’s youth will build on the legacy of the many who laid the foundation for (access to) quality education.
“The fact that we are taking five girls along means that we are trying to level the playing fields in the building industry in terms of promoting gender equality in the industry,” Oliver added.
His school would introduce its “Girls Into Science, Technology and Engineering” programme next year.
Oliver added that economic growth in the country was achievable through infrastructure development that needed skilled professionals, who would be produced through schools such as his.