Bizana Learners with Disabilities Inspired to Pursue Engineering Careers at merSETA Career Awareness Project

On 15 October 2025 merSETA with Green Youth Network hosted a Career Awareness Development Project at Ingwe TVET College in Bizana, Eastern Cape. The Career Awareness project aimed at empowering learners, including learners living with disabilities.

COO for Green Youth network Dumisile Le Roux, Namhla Melane a Liaison Officer from merSETA in an engineering sector, Mr Samuel Pragasen from Eskom Expo for Young Scientists along with Nwabisa Gwaza an Electrical Engineering Level 4 student at Ingwe TVET College held a career discussion to motivate and empower learners with disability who want to persue an engineering career.

Namhla Melani from merSETA stated that their organization encourages TVET colleges and different companies to request for funding to out killed their employees with their respective companies, the merSETA organizations also encourages a partnership between Ingwe TVET College and SMMEs. MerSERTA has buseries, learnerships, skill programmes and internships. Namhla adviced Grade 12 learners that are going further their studies in colleges and universities to apply for merSETA funding at bursary university offices if NSFAS funding declined them, she also adviced learners to also apply at TVET Colleges even if they don’t get an entry level at universities.

In accommodating people with disabilities, the merSETA with their stakeholders, they do something that is called monitoring which encourages stakeholders to go beyond what they are doing for people who are not living with disability.

“You are not alone, we do recognize you, you are part of us, and we will ensure that what we are saying today we will take it to the companies as we are dealing with Mercedice Benz company that is employing a lot of people with disability” Namhla Melani

Mr. Samuel Pragasen is official from the Department of Education and a Science director at Eskom Expo. In South Africa there’s high unemployment rate is caused by 1 or 2 years of experience in which the applicants are required to have, so Mr. P Samuel stated that if there are too many qualified doctors or educators it means that there is a lack of skills within the country. He further stated that Eskom Expo has partnered with many companies internationally and nationally to assist the youth.

“There is a department called Maths Science and Technology, and all provinces in terms of Maths and Technology have bridged the skilled gap by promoting pilot schools and we got more subjects such as Engineering Mathematics, Engineering and Graphic Design that require skills and are project base” Samuel Pragasen

Nwabisa Gwaza a student from Ingwe TVET College living with disability, said that the reason why she is persuing an engineering course is because she had always wanted to be a Electrician when she had grown up and she had always loved anything that has to do with electricity. She said that being in an engineering course and living with a disability is very hard because she can’t wear all safety clothes such as boots when they are in the fields, however her lectures have supported by understanding her situation and allowed her to wear her comfortable shoes.

Mfundo Shozi who was born without disability but now he is living with one, he is a Transformational coach and a Serial entrapreneur had qouated from his poem ‘Finish What you have started’ that  “You don’t have to be great to start, you have to start to be great” “Turn your disability into your greatness”