Coega’s Six Pack Career Guidance Programme makes career information available to all Nelson Mandela Bay pupils living in the townships and the city’s northern areas, to enable them to qualify for a career for which they may have the necessary aptitude or talent. The career guidance programme consists of the following:
(a) Job Shadowing;
(b) Career Expos; and
(c) Mentoring
Job Shadowing rolled out in partnership with UWESO, absorbs Grade 9 learners from previously disadvantaged schools during school holidays and places them within the CDC Business Units exposing them to the different functions of the organization. The objectives of the programme are as follows:
- To expose girls, through job shadowing, to the world of work during school holidays;
- To increase the knowledge of girls on careers they are exposed to;
- To increase awareness of the importance of subject choices to future career preferences;
- To expose girls to mentors in the workplace for particular careers;
- To expose girls to practical job tasks in the workplace for particular careers; and
- To increase knowledge of girls on the planning processes of their future career choices.
Career expos such as the World of Work Exhibition which take place annually gives the learners an opportunity to learn more about their career of choice and also to interact with the different stakeholders such as private sector companies, the institutions of higher learning and other state owned entities.
Mentoring is done through the CDC Internship Programme as well as Vision 4 Young Women Mentorship Programme. The CDC Internship Programme focuses on placement of graduates into the workplace to gain experience in their relevant career choices. The interns are allocated mentors during their stay at the CDC and through the 18 month internship duration, they are monitored on a monthly basis. There are other supplementary life skills offered to the Interns such as the Driver Training Programme, Business Etiquette skills and communication skills to enhance their employability.
The Vision 4 Young Women Mentorship Program supports Grade 12 girls from various high schools. In 2012, there were 26 grade 12 girls and in 2013 there were 33 girls and the number just increases every year. All of them are from 12 previously disadvantaged high schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality.
Mission of the program is:
- To develop and encourage girls to be workplace ready and become leaders in their careers of choice
- Promotes academic excellence
- Career exploration for the mentees
- To communicate information related to the richness and breadth of the girl’s lives concerns and possibilities using available knowledge and skills