[17 May 2023] EThekwini Maritime Cluster was honoured to be part of the school’s tourism awareness programme hosted by the EThekwini Municipality’s Business Support Department focused on sharing background knowledge on the career opportunities to the young Mqhawe Secondary School grades 10, 11, and 12. The session also provided the participants with information on entrepreneurship and the resources available to help those who want to pursue careers in business.

The industry promotions unit attended the workshop as part of the EMC mandate to promote maritime industries and facilitate information sharing, collaboration, and networking with the different stakeholders.

The workshop consisted of two parts where in the morning the learners were taken through various speakers including Mrs Nelisa Ngubane a tourism industry specialist: Durban Film offices and Mbusi Sokhela founder of Finest Inc. During the latter part of the day the learners were taken on a tour to Inanda heritage sites. One of the key speakers of the workshop was Mr Sthembiso Khoza of Hakuna Matata Charters, a cruise boat charterer providing cruise experiences for corporate events, weddings, birthday parties, and school outings.

EMC and eThekwini Municipality’s Programme Manager: Economic Development, Maritime, and Investment Promotion Unit, Ms Noma Sokhela said “The maritime industry offers several private colleges that offer maritime courses. My advice to students applying to maritime college institutes is to be wary of the NQF levels of the courses they are applying for as these play a crucial role in the jobs graduates are applying for”. As she was addressing students who were seeking advice on how one can enter the maritime industry.”