Company Announcement - Students of electrical engineering have been afforded the opportunity to gain in-service training through anIthala Development Finance Corporation Limited (Ithala) initiative. In supporting KwaZulu-Natal Province’s Youth Development Strategy, Ithala has for several years been providing internships and in-service training to students from previously disadvantaged communities.

Ithala’s internship programmes already include the National Certificate in Bank Credit Learnership, which is jointly funded by Bankseta whereby Ithala has taken on graduates from Mangosuthu Univeristy of Technology and Durban University of Technology; an 18-month Information Technology Internship programme for IT Graduates; anda Human Resources Internship Programme with interns from MUT who have been placed for 12 months. Ithala’s latest initiative is aimed at engineering students with a programme geared to offer practical work exposure to electrical engineers.  The power engineering programme follows on from a very successful pilot project conducted in 2013.

Hailing from different parts of KwaZulu-Natal, as far afield as Umzimkhulu, four interns from DUT will be placed at Ithala’s Isithebe and Ezakheni Industrial estates. Currently doing their national diploma in electrical engineering, they are required to get 12 months of practical experience in order for them to graduate. The selected interns will be exposed to the real and live environment of electricity production, management, monitoring and even the design of equipment within this environment. They will be allocated mentors within the estates that will cater for their development and encourage excellence in their artisanship.

“In a country where more than 50% of people aged under 25 remain unemployed, internships have become a crucial step toward providing vital experience for our youth to enter the jobs market.  Ithalaboasts a proud history of serving communities in KwaZulu-Natal,” said Yvonne Zwane, Ithala Group Chief Executive. “We understand the enormous challenges our youth are facing and we are pleased to be facilitating this programme for them. 

“This new foray into the engineering field, through our industrial estates, allows us to broaden our work experience opportunities. “We hope to encourage all interns in our programmes to believe in themselves, build confidence, evaluate their choices and make a difference in their own lives.”