Sishen Mine: Paving The Way For The Youth

Access to employment is usually a challenge to many young people. One of the contributing factors is the basic modern-day job requirements often being a barrier to entry into the labour force for unprivileged youth. As part of Siyathemba’s Livelihood Enhancement strategy, Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen Mine has undertaken a ‘Learners to Drivers’ initiative, that aims to sponsor the youth of Siyathemba with the opportunity of obtaining Drivers Licenses.The project has already identified 70 participants who will directly benefit from it.

Gita Joao – Resettlement Officer at Sishen Mine and Project Lead on the programme, highlighted that the project intends to add value to the skillset of young job seekers. “Through our engagements with the Siyathemba community, we managed to Identify a need, that if addressed, could positively impact the lives of many young people in Siyathemba. Driving is a skill that is sought after by many employers, and with this programme we hope to bridge that gap,” she said.

Over a period of 5 months, the ‘Leaners to Drivers’ project participants will get the required funding for training and support, not only to pass their Learners Licenses but to ultimately obtain their Drivers Licenses as well.

Cllr Johannes Roman, Siyathemba Ward Councillor, welcomed the initiative and encouraged the youth to take full advantage of this opportunity. “We are pleased with the opportunity that has been granted to our community.This is an opportunity that our matriculant and unemployed youth must utilise. We are really grateful to Sishen Mine for this initiative.”

In order to sustain the endeavour to tackle youth unemployment, Sishen aims to sign up more of Siyathemba’s youth to the programme over the next year, and help increase the number of quality drivers on our roads.