06 Sep 2022

The country is in need of skilled labour to develop the economy, hence the importance of edifying youths on the importance of pursuing  courses that will help them cut niches in the blue collar sector.

Developing the country requires availability of work power locally without having to import skilled personnel.

Unlike in the past, where people prefered white collar jobs over blue collar  ones, the sector has proved to be a viable money spinner.

The director of Department of Facilities Management (DFM) Ms Gorata Moleboge said this during sanitary pads donation ceremony themed Building a Girl and a Boy Child’s Confidence For a Bright Future at Francistown’s Tashata Secondary School recently.

Ms Moleboge urged the Form Three  pupils to start discovering themselves, especially at this level where not all would make it to Form Four.

She encouraged them to realise that each one of them was unique and talented in a specific area.

The director said it was possible for the country to be manufacturers of all furniture and save the country money used to obtain the material and labour from outside.

“Believe in yourself, focus on what you know you can do best and never compare yourself to others,”she said.

The school head, Ms Kedisaletse Tshukudu said Tashata JSS was intentional about building the confidence of every pupil as the right focus required high self-esteem.

When receiving about 700 sanitary pads from the department, she said the school was mainstreamed with a special education sector as well as boarding facilities.

Ms Tshukudu said the donation would build confidence in all the beneficiaries and enable them to perform at their best.

“Every student has potential when provided with all the basic needs and can simply thrive in every area,” she added.

She reminded the pupils to avoid isolating themselves when in need some amenities as such was likely to results in resorting to unrewarding and unwarranted activities.

Such situations, she said, was the reason some pupils rebelled because they lacked confidence to express themselves effectively, therefore resorting to attention seeking behaviour.

The Department of Facilities Management assistant director, Ms Magdeline Ndlovu, who is also an electrical engineer by profession, said anything was achievable despite ones background and huddles encountered.

“I grew up wanting to be an engineer despite being a male dominated field.

It was all I wanted and I had to achieve it because I did not see myself as anything else,” she said, adding that only determination could get one to places far unimaginable.

The pupils were taught about the available courses the brigades centres offered, which they could explore in case they did not make it to the next level in their education.

They were also educated on taking care of their school premises, stopping vandalism and consequences of damaging government facilities. ENDS