MISA celebrating 15 years inspiring future talent

MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, is hosting more than 1 200 learners nationwide today in its annual MISA Child@Work initiative to educate Grade 11 learners on the variety of career opportunities in the evolving retail motor industry

The majority of the Union’s events in the Western Cape had to be cancelled yesterday amid severe storms and flooding resulting in schools to close. These events will now be hosted in October.

This initiative exposes learners to real working environments in the industry, creates awareness of the different careers from technical, artisan, dealership, administrative to management and encourages them to consider scarce-skills occupations.

Martlé Keyter, MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Operations, says the Union considers this initiative as one of the ways to try to address the escalating youth unemployment in South Africa by communicating skills shortages to learners while connecting them with dealerships, workshops and other stakeholders in the retail motor industry.

According to yesterday’s figures from Statistics SA, unemployed young people (15 to 34 years, excluding scholars and students) increased to 4,7 million, while employed young people decreased to 5.6 million. This led to an increase of 2% in youth unemployment to 45,8%. The rate of the youth unemployment doubled in a decade.

With MISA’s Child@Work the leaners get the opportunity to observe different job roles, engage with industry professionals, get career guidance and gain practical insight into how the industry operates.

This initiative was the brainchild of Keyter, who also founded the MISA Women’s Forum and Young Workers’ Forum.

Keyter recalls when Hoërskool Die Burger in Bergbron, Roodepoort, came to her attention after news that one of its learners, Louise de Waal, died after she was kidnapped, raped and killed in 2011 by the so-called Sunday-rapist Johannes Jacobus Steyn. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for her death and similar attacks on girls in Vanderbijlpark, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Potchefstroom and Krugersdorp.

“MISA reached out to the school and upgraded its Computer Room. Afterwards I realised that upgrading the room is not enough and that learners needed exposure to the industry and what it does. I will never forget the expression of Karen Gouws, MISA’s Women’s Forum National Secretary, after sharing my idea.

“She was not happy, but she did not complain and made a huge success of it. She had to find solutions to every problem. It was only years later that she got help from Felicity Hansel, my Office Assistant, and all the representatives of the two forums. I am so grateful to everyone who helped, but my greatest appreciation is to Karen, for doing her magic time and time again. She turned my dream for MISA into a reality,” says Keyter.

She wishes the MISA representatives all the bests for their irrespective events.

Issued by Sonja Carstens, Manager of MISA’s Media & Communication Department, on behalf of the Union.

For press enquiries, contact Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, MISA Spokesperson on 083 367 6417 or email [email protected].

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