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Every year the Gauteng Department of Education arranges a free Career Expo during Youth Month. All schools have access to this expo where they can meet with academic institutions and potential employers.
The GDE’s biggest frustration about this expo is the fact that middle-class suburban schools shine in their absence at these events.
It seems that suburbia is either not aware of the annual expo, or suburbia is not interested in attending the expo after all.
In our daily interaction with the youth, it strikes Growth Institute that some segments of the population complain that they are denied opportunities.
Yet, when an opportunity such as the annual GDE expo arrives, the complainants are nowhere to be seen.
The idea of inclusive economic development means that all citizens should have an equitable chance to education and employment.
Thus, when suburbia decides not to attend an expo focused on the youth, certainly Government cannot be blamed for withholding opportunities to that segment of the youth.
South Africans need to change their mindsets. The days of one group blaming another and using that as an excuse not to improve their lives, are over.
The most competitive economies in the world know that blame games do not work.
They also know that one cannot rely on eternal handouts from Government. We are very quick to regurgitate, “do not give a man a fish but teach a man to fish,” yet we are poor in practising that mantra.
Economic transformation requires action from Government, but the citizenry has a greater responsibility to pull themselves up. He who relies on others all the time cannot survive the storm.
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