Twenty young unemployed Drakenstein residents have obtained their drivers licenses thanks to a skills development project by the Drakenstein Municipality and private sector partners. The project, aimed at empowering rural youth, provided assistance to candidates to pass their learners licenses and then provided driving instructors to help them pass their drivers license tests. Nineteen of the candidates obtained their Code 10 license and one candidate obtained a Code 08.
The Executive Mayor of the Drakenstein Municipality, Alderman Conrad Poole, thanked all role-players adding that this project gave people a chance to now compete for a job, a chance to be economically active and a chance to get a start in life.
“Sukses is ‘n mooi ding” said the Mayor and he encouraged all the candidates to build on this success and keep going. “Your smiles here today mean the world to me, that’s all the reward we need” said Alderman Poole.
The project, which started in 2019, saw 90 applicants start the process, 43 passed their learners and 20 went on to complete the program. Of the 20 successful candidates, 15 were female.
Cheryl Phillips, Senior Manager at Drakenstein Municipality in the department of Economic Growth and Tourism, said this was the start of a long term journey and added that they would be working with the business community to source possible placements for the graduates.
Phillips also said that projects that could help address the high unemployment rate amongst the youth were particularly important. The Drakenstein Municipality partnered with AFRIMAT and local driving schools.