Career Workshop

One of the biggest Problems here in Africa is unemployment. In the township here adjacent
to Port Alfred, the unemployment rate is somewhere around 50%........ maybe more. That same figure is representative of the unemployment rate in our branch. It's a huge issue. To address the problem, we held a career workshop recently for our Branch members. The workshop was designed by the Church to help members and non-members alike to develop and enhance their skills to choose and prepare for a job or career, and the application process including writing resumes and effectively participating in the interview process. Our workshop, which ran over a two day period, was conducted by another "Robinson" missionary couple from Port Elizabeth which is about a two hour drive from here. Glenn Robinson was one of the top executives with Mountain Fuel Supply, now known as Questar, the large natural gas utility. Their presentation was exceptional, and I'm confident that it will have some very positive results.

In addition to the career workshop, I have also been teaching a "drivers training" class for our Branch members. Very few of the black community have drivers licenses, and for those who do have one, the promise of a good job is almost guaranteed. Navigating through the process of getting a license is not easy, and the associated fees are fairly stiff. But hopefully we can at least stimulate some motivation.