Johannesburg, 17 August 2010 – Students across the country today received inspiration and advice on how to develop their future career prospects with the launch of My Future, My Career, a collaborative programme launched in association with the Department of Education, Nedbank and Primestars.

At a press briefing in Johannesburg, spokespeople from the Department of Education, Nedbank, Primestars and Tertiary Institutions discussed the state of education in South Africa and showcased the need for career development programmes such as My Future, My Career.

“There are limited resources available in the education sector to focus attention solely on career development. Teachers across the country play an important role by keeping their focus on educating our youth and this often means that there is not enough time to spend on career planning and guidance discussions,” says Shirley Zinn, Group Executive of Human Resources at Nedbank.

“It is critical for students to make the right choices when selecting their subjects at school. We believe that the My Future, My Career programme will help focus learner’s attention in making the right subject choices at school which will lead them to a chosen career. However, more importantly, we hope that the discussions provided within the programme will inspire all the learners to follow a chosen career path,” says Zinn.

My Future, My Career will target 30 000 learners from Grades 9 to 12. The programme involves a cinema-style concept, whereby 3 000 learners will view videos at 14 Ster-Kinekor cinema complexes nationally per week, starting on 29 August 2010. The videos include interviews with industry leaders across industries and academic influencers across the country.

The programme focuses on historically disadvantaged learners of 58 top performing DoE schools. To participate, all schools are required to pre-register. Based on their interests, learners nominate which weeks they wish to attend.

“The aim is to educate learners about the academic, industry and personal requirements needed to succeed in various careers. We hope to inspire learners while providing them with tools to assist in making the right career choices,” says Martin Sweet, MD of Primestars. “Students are also provided with an information booklet after the session which includes, career information, bursary information, and education outlet contact information.”

“Public-private partnerships are increasingly playing a supporting role in our education sector in South Africa. While the Department of Education is able to provide the fundamentals of learning, we encourage the private sector to work with government to provide learners insights into careers in different industries. By understanding the key aspects of the workplace, especially from a career guidance perspective, learners are better able to understand what is required to succeed after they have completed their studies,” says Babalwa Ntabeni-Matutu, Director of the Department of Higher Education and Training.

“We applaud Nedbank, Primestars and the other key stakeholders for bringing the My Future, My Career programme to life. We have no doubt that the insights provided across the sectors will excite learners to follow their passion in a particular career field,” says Ntabeni-Matutu.

Students will have no shortage of inspiration as the programme covers a myriad of career opportunities. The My Future, My Career programme will focus on careers within 10 different industries, including:

• Careers in Banking
• Careers in Crime Prevention
• Careers in Accounting
• Careers in Health Services
• Careers in Communications
• Careers in Building
• Careers in Law
• Careers in Education
• Careers in Wholesale and Retail
• Careers in Tourism

Zinn believes that this programme will aid in transforming how the students think about their careers. “The beauty of this programme is that it is flexible in its approach and can be harnessed in other community outlets. In the future, the videos can be played at community centres, churches and schools across the country.”

“We look forward to the future development of the My Future, My Career programme and believe that as this gains momentum, other interested bodies will become partners in helping students make the right career choices to become tomorrow’s great industry and business leaders,” concludes Zinn.



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