MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Girls get a day free from School

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Businesswomen of Tomorrow
Excited learners prepare for a work shadow day

The Businesswomen of Tomorrow Initiative is an annual initiative run in August by each branch of the Business Women’s Association (BWA) nationally aimed at exposing Grade 11 learners to a day in the life of a working woman.

The PE branch partners with one high school from the Metro each year. This year it was Cillie High School and learners from the Future Leaders Programme based at the Ubuntu Centre in Zwide as well as young ladies of the Vision 4 Academy werte also invited to take part.

At today’s event 57 girls from Cillie High School, 10 from the Ubuntu Centre and 12 from Vision 4 Academy were hosted at various businesses in Port Elizabeth.

The hosts were chosen after the learners each submitted a list of two career choices. The girls were then matched with members of BWA. Each host then collected a minimum of two girls from the high school and the girls were provided with an opportunity to shadow them for the morning.

Businesswomen can juggle many roles, so if the host has a meeting, needs to pick up laundry, gets dinner ready, collects children, etc. the learners are exposed to all these aspects.

In a more corporate environment the hosts allow them an opportunity of seeing a wide range of roles within a specific sector.

Feedback from hosts has mostly been positive in the past. The learners mostly regard it as a positive experience. Some regard it as a confirmation of their career choice and others see it as an eye opener deciding against a particular career.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.