By Charmaine Ndlela
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has urged young people to turn their passions for music, fashion, dance, culinary arts and poetry into careers, saying the creative and heritage sectors offer opportunities beyond traditional professions.
Speaking at the launch of the fourth Heritage Careers Expo at ORBIT TVET College’s Mankwe Campus in the North West on Tuesday, Manamela said young people should view their cultural interests as potential careers rather than hobbies.
The expo, held under the theme “Heritage to Wealth: Turning Culture into Careers”, connects learners and students with career, training, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in South Africa’s cultural, creative and heritage industries.
Manamela said South Africa’s heritage carried both cultural and economic value and that young people needed to be equipped to develop that value through education, skills and enterprise.
“Our responsibility is to help young people develop that value through education, skills and enterprise,” he said.
He encouraged learners to challenge the perception that career success was limited to traditionally prestigious professions, saying passion should be an important consideration when choosing a field of study.
“Your passion can become your profession, and your heritage can become your career,” Manamela said.
He said some young people dropped out of universities and TVET colleges because they had chosen careers they were not passionate about.
“One of the biggest challenges which we have is that kids who drop out of university or TVET colleges may have chosen something that they’re not passionate about,” he said.
Manamela said careers in fashion, music, dance and culinary arts could be pursued through formal education, noting that many professionals in the creative sector had studied their respective fields at universities and other institutions.
He urged learners to use the expo to gather information about these programmes and discuss alternative career choices with their parents.
“When you get home, you must tell your parents that it’s not just actuarial scientists or all of these so-called sophisticated careers, that all careers must be given an opportunity,” he said.
The minister said perceptions of creative careers had also changed, with industries that were once dismissed increasingly providing opportunities for young people.
He urged learners to consider how technology and artificial intelligence could be incorporated into creative careers.
“The world has moved quite a lot since 2019 when we started the Heritage Career Expo. There’s been, in particular, technological advancement,” he said.
Manamela said young people entering creative fields needed to understand and use technology to develop their skills, enhance their knowledge and expand their opportunities.
He said the department wanted to see more young people pursuing careers as chefs, fashion designers, dancers, producers and other professionals linked to heritage and culture.
The minister also used the platform to call on young people to take a stand against gender-based violence and femicide.
With the country approaching the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, Manamela urged young people to challenge gender-based violence wherever they found themselves.
“We have to send out the message against gender-based violence and femicide. We have to remain activists against gender-based violence and femicide,” he said.
He called on young people to carry the message into schools, villages, townships, churches and sporting environments, while urging young men to challenge harmful attitudes around masculinity and entitlement.
Manamela also said institutions of higher learning had a responsibility to provide safe environments for students.
“Our country will continue doing its best. Institutions of higher learning, TVET colleges, universities will continue to step up against gender-based violence, so that when you come to universities and TVET colleges next year, you find a safe environment to study at,” he said.
The minister said education institutions had an important role to play in equipping young people with the skills needed to combine heritage, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Heritage Careers Expo was initiated by Manamela during his tenure as deputy minister of higher education and training to promote careers in the heritage and creative sectors.
The fourth edition brought together school learners, TVET college students, government representatives, education institutions and industry stakeholders, with masterclasses and practical demonstrations forming part of the programme.
Manamela thanked the Sector Education and Training Authorities, particularly CATHSSETA, the North West provincial government, TVET colleges and industry stakeholders for supporting the initiative.
He encouraged learners to leave the expo with practical information about career opportunities and share what they had learnt with others.
“It may not be of use to you, it may be of use to somebody else,” he said.
“Let’s go out, let’s try a skill, let’s ask questions, and leave here with everything, all the information that you need.”
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