Leemisa Thuseho
STANDARD Lesotho Bank (SLB) said its recently ended week-long Career Expo was the bedrock of its commitment to empowering Basotho youth.
The Expo was meant to guide youths in their career choices and enhance the country’s labour force.
It was held in conjunction with the Mind Liberation Psychology Consultancy. Various institutions of higher learning in the country and from South Africa got a chance to explain different career options for students.
The final leg of the week-long Expo was held at ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre in Maseru on Friday.
It had started on Monday in Mokhotlong at the construction site of the new multi-billion maloti Polihali Dam.
It proceeded to Buth-Buthe Community High School before going to Assumption High School in Berea on Wednesday.
On Thursday it was at Holy Trinity High School in Quthing.
Speaking at the closing event, SLB Head of Personal Banking, Teboho Sello, said the youths were custodians of Lesotho’s future, hence the importance of investing in them.
“The future of this country lies in young people and the only way to see that good future we all aspire to achieve is to invest in young people,” Mr Sello said.
“Propelling students to choose careers that are relevant in this era is not going to benefit Standard Lesotho Bank only, but even other corporates and organisations in the country.
“So, we are convinced that this is the right course, and we are looking forward to growing the career expo going forward. We are already making calls to other organisations and companies, to come on board and we do a bigger thing.”
Mr Sello said the initiative was growing at a rapid pace. Last year they had reached about 12 000 students. The number of students benefiting from the programme had ballooned to an estimated 60 000.
“The event is growing looking at the numbers of students we are impacting. This year’s edition has been a success. We started in Mokhotlong, proceeded to Butha-Buthe, Berea and then Quthing, and the venues were packed. Today (Friday) we are in the capital city and of course the numbers surpass the numbers from all other districts,” Mr Sello said.
The bank had invested M150 000 for the success of this year’s Expo.