Our FunDza reader surveys provide us with a wealth of information about the young people who are our community of readers. They reveal the struggles facing them, from lack of finances for study, to how tough it is to find a job. Many of our readers are either unemployed and looking for a job, or have given up on ever finding work. Many don’t have access to information about how to even start looking for work or the opportunities that are out there.
FunDza’s weekly ‘Workwise’ blog is a space where our readers can find practical information to help them navigate the working world and achieve their goals. It provides tips from how to write a good CV and covering letter and how to prepare for a job interview to giving readers a taste of different careers and advice on where and how to apply for courses or to look for jobs.
There are many jobs out there that people don’t know about, and haven’t considered. In February this year, a draft Critical Skills list was published in the Government Gazette. This inspired us to run a mini-series in our WorkWise column on these critical skills that will give young people an advantage in studying for careers where there is demand.
The series has the tag ‘Becoming a…’. Careers range from ‘Becoming a data scientist’ to ‘Becoming a farm manager’. The blog includes information about these different careers researched and written our freelance WorkWise writer, and then an interview with someone working in the particular field. The interviews are done by our in-house staff, and provide a personal element to the blogs, helping to make them relatable.
The series started with an overview : Critical skills: What are they and why they are relevant are critical skills and why are the relevant and our first blog in the series was ‘Yes, Chef!’ Since then we have covered becoming a doctor, quantity surveyor, FET principal, agriculturalist, nurse and geo-hydrologist… with many more to come.
Many of the skills on the list were not surprising given the rapid development in technology such as skills in IT and software development. But there were also some unexpected careers such as a need for dockmasters!
We hope that our readers will be introduced to new worlds of possibility through our WorkWise series on critical skills, and that the resources in the blogs will help some of them find a career path they may not have known about or considered previously.