By Ntokozo Nkambule
CONCO Limited has contributed an astonishing E1 Million towards the Eswatini Youth Empowerment Programme (EYEP).
The announcement was made today by CONCO Limited General Manager, Mr Micheal Geraghty at the company’s offices in Matsapha.
The EYEP is a government-endorsed Programme which will provide Graduate Placement and Artisanal Skills livelihood Development. The project is facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Through this Programme, young graduates from local and external tertiary institutions will get the opportunity to gain at least 12 months of work experience, thus improving their employability prospects.
Geraghty when making the announcement disclosed that CONCO is one of the biggest companies in the country and currently supplies around 25 countries in the African continent.
He said all that would not be possible without graduates from local tertiary institutions who have propelled the company to greater heights.
“The success of CONCO is based on the quality of tertiary education in the country. The quality of the graduates should also be enhanced by proper work experience. We supply around 25 countries on the continent using emaSwati who graduated in local tertiary institutions.”
Worth noting is that the donation will be used by CONCO in hosting some graduates in the company and also pay allowances for organizations that do not have the resources to cover the monthly stipend.
Also present during the announcement was UNDP’s Resident Representative Ms. Rose Ssebatindira who thanked CONCO for the generous donation.
The UNDP Resident Representative further called upon other companies in the country to support them in this initiative. She highlighted that even though applications are now closed for graduates, they are still open for host organizations.
“We need more organizations to sign up so that we are able to give more graduates an opportunity to get skills,” she noted.