The Bergrivier Youth Development Programme, which launched in January, has already received an offer to employ 100 local young people.

An initiative of the Bergrivier Tourism Organisation (BTO) to empower and support marginalised young people from the local communities and help them develop the skills they need to become employable in the tourism sector, the Youth Development Programme is partnering with one of the largest luxury cruise line operators in the world.

“This is an exceptional opportunity for our young people and we are so excited at the prospects for them,” said Nomonde Ndlangisa, CEO of BTO.

To qualify for jobs on cruise liners, International Maritime Law requires these young people to obtain Seafarer safety certifications and medical assessments which cost up to R15 000 (€730) per person.

“On their own, they will never realise this dream of working on a cruise ship so the Bergrivier Youth Development Programme is working to assist these disadvantaged youths with the necessary skills and training to qualify for these jobs.

“The first task is to raise the funds to cover the required certifications and assessments and we are currently reaching out to various government agencies as well as private enterprises to secure sponsorships wherever possible – with some exciting prospects in the pipeline,” explained Ndlangisa.

Commitment for further help

“We have already had assistance, and commitment for further help going forward, from the SSTG Maritime Training Academy based in St Helena Bay which offers the necessary accredited training to the cruise ship industry. They have agreed to sponsor the training and certification for two of our youth starting immediately and will assist with more as they can going forward, however we need to get 100 young people through this accreditation as quickly as possible so that they can take up the job opportunities, and so funding is required.”

BTO is therefore looking for partners and sponsors to help train these youths in the hospitality skills required on the cruise ships, such as baristas, waitrons, entertainers, beauticians, chefs, hairdressers and more.

“Our initial goal when launching the Youth Development Programme was to target 20 unemployed youth in our first year, however in only a month we have tapped into life-changing opportunities for 100 young people,” said Ndlangisa.

“It is already bigger than we imagined and, if we are successful in bringing on board the right funding partners and agencies, we can change the lives of hundreds of young South Africans who otherwise feel hopeless about their future career prospects. We welcome contact from private individuals and businesses who may be interested in working with us if they are able to train any of our youth or possibly sponsor their training.”