During my final year of study, I was filled with high hopes about the future. I imagined myself working in the media industry and having all the nice perks that come with being permanently employed.
But upon graduating, I realised that finding employment was more challenging and frustrating than I imagined. Having a degree without the necessary experience or skills stood between me and my dream job.
Seeing my despondency as a result hopping from one interview to another job hunting in vain, a friend suggested that I volunteer at LoveLife Youth Centre that was based at our local clinic.
She encouraged me and said that even though I was not going to be paid for my efforts, the programme could help me in gaining the work experience I so needed.
Though sceptical at first, I eventually heeded her advice.
Little did I anticipate that volunteering would open a new chapter in my life, bridging the gap between tertiary education and the workplace. Volunteering offered me a valuable practical experience as well as an opportunity to learn, hone my skills and helped build my self-esteem and self-confidence.
Though it was without remuneration; I was able to sharpen my presenting and writing skills, learn about workplace ethics, time management, leadership skills and a whole lot more.
Not only that, working with the community on a daily basis instilled in me the culture of helping others and the satisfaction that comes with having made an impact on people’s wellbeing.
The Quarterly Labour Force report by Statistics South Africa showed that South Africa’s unemployment rate dropped to 24.9 percent in the second quarter of 2012 – clearly an unacceptably high number of unemployment, with the youth mostly affected.
Though the government, business and labour are trying hard to correct the situation through various programmes, encouraging school-work transition through apprenticeships and training programmes; youth also need to augment their skills by volunteering.
With South Africa hosting the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, I would like to encourage especially the youth to take advantage of the National Youth Development Agency’s Volunteer Programme.
The programme or any other volunteer work could assist a person in sharpening their skill, helping one in networking as well as assisting in exploring and expanding one’s horizons.