Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Young people can benefit from programmes worth billions of rand through skills development and doing business with parastatals, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Tuesday.
"There should be more efforts from parastatals to lead in empowering and creating employment for young people," Gigaba said at a briefing hosted by The New Age newspaper in Pretoria.
Eskom would spend R24bn a year doing business with youth-owned businesses by 2017, he said.
"Eskom's skills development programmes will prepare and help the youth to trade in the sectors it operates in."
New energy technology would create a platform for young people to participate in the sector through fields such as research, engineering and maintenance.
Transnet intended spending at least R18bn this financial year on companies owned by young people, especially those in townships and rural areas, Gigaba said.
"Transnet will also spend R7.7bn on training, and R4.7bn of that amount will go into funding bursaries and grants. At least 2000 apprentices will be in training at any given time."
Gigaba said SA Airways would soon launch its own flight academy to train pilots from South Africa and across the continent.
"The academy will become the centre of excellence... making a footprint across the continent."
The cost per pilot candidate would be between R1m and R2m for three years of training, he said.
