BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE – The Art of Life Programme will host mentorship programmes for the youth from August 17, 2024.
This was confirmed by Art of Life Mentor and Facilitator Gugu Mthimkhulu, who will be mentoring the youth from ages 16 to 26.
Venues would be between Manzini, Matsapha, and Mbabane. The programme consists of 12 spaced-out sessions in total. According to Mthimkhulu, the programmes are divided into 12 sessions with duration of three hours and 30 minutes. Each session costs E300. The life coach shared that for flexibility, the sessions would be conducted on Saturdays and others mid-week.
Mthimkhulu is a mother and life coach and has 30 years of experience in the human resources (HR) field. Part of her performance area was mentoring employees for career growth. Her rich HR background makes her an ideal person for this structured, supportive initiative.
When reached for comment, she said, The Art of Life has come up with mentoring circles for youth. Mentees will be aged between 16 and 26. Each group will consist of a mix of no more than 12 mentees to enable quality engagement and information sharing. Where possible, mentees could know one another and be comfortable in that circle. Upon completion of the program, mentees will receive a professional document of completion that can serve as a reference and as part of their CV.”
Mthimkhulu said that this is what the youth need—to be guided, supported, and developed outside of the academic or home setting. Parents are overwhelmed by their own social and career responsibilities; they need a supportive hand. “Mentorship is a way to influence another person’s life decisions, choices, and lifestyles purposefully. Without proper guidance and help, young adults may make misinformed choices, personally and professionally, that may affect their lives significantly. When the young person has a mentorship relationship, it has powerful positive effects in a variety of personal, academic, and professional situations.”
According to the mentor, young people benefit from the theory that they get at school, university, or college, which does not include the important aspects of real life. They often feel stuck and that life is a constant roller-coaster with one pressure after the other. In real life, they need to develop specific knowledge and skills that enhance education advancement, career and personal development, goal setting, self-awareness, communication and relations, coping skills, and real-life skills. Structured knowledge transfer facilitates learning.
“High school pupils need to prepare themselves for the challenges that come post-school. Life at the tertiary level or post-school level is not protected. The pressures and challenges are stronger. They need coping skills, discernment, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, focused career ambition, and a strong will. Tertiary students need to prepare for employment, small businesses or side hustles, and the realities that come with being a young adult. Some young adults are still searching for employment; they too can benefit from mentorship, as it will contain modules on how to identify and use talents, how to position themselves for growth, and how to market their small crafts or businesses.”
For more information and details, contact The Art of Life at 7635 5777 or visit their page on Facebook: Art of Life.
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