A mentorship programme seeking to fight the scourge of unemployment is taking young people under its wing for guidance and support.

Unemployment in the country continues to plague young people, accounting for 42.1% of those aged between 24 and 34 being without jobs.

This is a shocking statistic that the founder of Mashobane Training and Mentorship Academy, Anastacia Machobane, hopes to change through her programme.

The academy comprise a group of professionals who each adopt a mentee and assist them with their career journey.

“Mentorship for me is a journey that someone with experience gives to someone without experience and assists them through the path of life. It can be assisting them to decide on career choices and how to cope with pressure that comes with their school work, it could be emotional support or financial support,” said Machobane.

“And with youngsters already in the work place, it is to help them deal with issues such as the imposter syndrome, which is one of the areas that most people struggle with.”

A group of women that are involved in the mentorship programme include engineers, nuclear scientists, advocates, academics, company secretaries, scientists, chartered accountants, among other professionals.

“It was purely a coincidence that the programme started off being founded and led by female, however, more males are taking on the task. As much as we have strong believe in women empowerment, we also believe in positive masculinity were the boy child should not be forgotten.

"Males should not be intimidated when working with women even in instances where they must report to a female boss,” Machobane said.

The project started as an informal initiative in 2019 and was funded by Machobane before being formalised in January.

It is now registered as a company, which serves as the CSI project of Mashobane Advisory Services.

Machobane said while the programme assists grades 11 and 12 learners, doors were open to people of all ages who needed it.

She shared a few of her success stories, one of which was that of a young Shatadi Maake whom she took under her wing when she was still in high school.

“Shatadi’s mom was working for the cleaning company where I was working as a group compliance officer. I supported and guided Shatadi, who was a straight A student from high school and I continued to do so through university. She graduated from University of Johannesburg this year with a BCom Accounting degree and is now studying for her honours.

"She also received an internship at one of the big five accounting firms and her ultimate goal is to be a chartered accountant and I will be there all the way.”

Another story is that of Lwazi Madikane, who recently completed his national diploma in law (paralegal studies) at UJ with a distinction.

“He connected with me through LinkedIn and became a mentee in 2021. An opportunity for an intern opened in our company in the beginning of this year and we offered the position to him as he proved to be an extremely enthusiastic person. His ultimate goal is to be a lawyer.”

Machobane’s dream is to see young people reaching for the stars and attempt to bridge the digital divide.

Libraries with computers and Wi-Fi have been created for their mentees to access, especially when applying for jobs.

“…We share opportunities on a daily basis with our mentees and it is really up to them to put through their applications and reach out to us to assist them in this process.

”We therefore try to open as many doors as possible through our relationships and the mentors.”

She said there is a need for mentors who are willing to give their time for free to inspire and guide mentees to overcome challenges and be better role models.

Potential mentees can send an email to mentorship@mashobane.com or send a WhatsApp to 065-660-0060.

sibiyan@sowetan.co.za