amagara Development Forum (GDF) has prioritized education as its top priority focus area. In this regard, the GDF has invested in the youth of Gamagara with the Internship Programme, which involves creating temporary work opportunities for unemployed youth graduates of Gamagara communities, using the Work-skills Development concept.

A large proportion of the Gamagara Local Municipality population remain on the lower bracket of literacy and skills creating barriers for them to grab exciting opportunities to effectively participate in South Africa’s economy and earn a living. The Internship Programme is one of GDF’s initiatives to bridge the Gap between the growing economy and the large numbers of unskilled and unemployed people who have yet to fully enjoy the benefits of economic development.

The Work-skills Development Programme (Internship Program) is designed specifically to provide training and skills development for the local youth. It builds on existing best-practise government programmes aimed at deepening their labour absorption opportunities or extending them once they leave the programme. The reason GDF created this programme was to provide promising individuals with the necessary tools and experience required to adequately prepare them for the work environment within their different interest of careers and to acquire skills through a work-skills Development programme.

Currently there are 8 interns doing their intern program with GDF; Delicia Cloete - Finance Intern, Meagan Julius - Welfare and Humanitarian and Healthcare Intern, Lorato Magida - PA Intern, Monei Tonyane-Monchwe - Safety intern, Mpho Matotong - Project Administrator (SMME Development) Intern, Odette Hantise - Reception Intern, Omphile Malgas - Stakeholder Relations and Communications Intern and Phemelo Phakedi - Infrastructure and Land and Housing Intern.

The GDF Interns are very grateful for the internship as it is a great opportunity because it is going to open vast doors in their fields of work, they say that this internship will enable them to have a greater

view of the career paths that they have taken and it gives them an insight view of their careers. They say that the GDF internship is giving them both personal and professional growth and development, they added that they are now being exposed to the difference between theory and the practical work.

Monei Tonyane-Monchwe the safety intern says that after the work-skills development and the experience acquired at GDF, they will be ready for the working environment within their fields of work. She says this puts them at a greater advantage of getting work after completing the program because of the experience and exposure gained.

She added by saying “the internship programme has alleviated unemployment within the Gamagara region despite the fact that it is only a few of us who are doing the program but this shows growth and the program should be a continues program as it will help develop more youth in the Gamagara region”.