One of the major news stories to break out this week was that Nigeria's GDP overtook SA's. We as a country consider ourselves as the leader in Africa yet another country that's normally shrouded in instability is performing better than us on an economic level. Unemployment is a major contributing factor to the countries GDP and with almost a quarter of SA's population being unemployed, it doesn't look very promising for the future. Out of that figure, it is estimated that 70% are youth, which is a greater cause for concern seeing that that is our future. Government alone cannot alleviate this problem and needs help from the private sector, step in Microsoft SA with their YouthSpark initiative.
The first YouthSpark event was held at Wits University, last year in May with a turn out of just around 1000 students, the day proved to be very knowledgeable for students considering a future in IT. Microsoft showed attendees the various tools on offer to help them in choosing the right path in their career choices. The day was not only for the students to learn but the feedback Microsoft received was tremendous. It was a similar case when they took the road show to Cape Town and King Williams Town.
The next stop is this weekend on the 12th of April in Durban, the venue, DUT (Durban University of Technology). It's bound to be just as good as the others but it needs student participation, the event is free of charge, so if you're a student, learner or budding entrepreneur, be sure to register now for a seat as space is limited.
You can register online at www.youthsparklive.com with the registration code "Durban", alternatively you can email saevent@microsoft.com or call call the contact centre on 0860 22 55 67.
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