5000 + learners benefit from career expos
25 April 2025
The City’s Community Services and Health Directorate has hosted 12 career expos in the past four months – the most recent expo held in Retreat this week had the largest turnout to date.
The expos have been facilitated by the Community, Arts and Culture Development Department (CACD) and Libraries and Information Services.
This week, 1 370 learners worked their way through a range of exhibition stands at the Retreat Civic Centre, offering insights into different careers and study options. The career expo was co-funded by ward allocation budget.
It was the third expo organised by CACD this year, with two others held in Atlantis and Belhar. Collectively, the expos attracted just over 2 500 attendees.
Some of the exhibitors included the Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the City’s Traffic Service, Fire and Rescue Service, Disaster Risk Management Centre, Metro Police Department, South African Police Service, Chrysalis Academy and the Soze Foundation.
’I’m delighted by the turnout at these career expos, and I want to thank all of the young people who have made use of the opportunity to learn more about potential future prospects. We live in the digital age with so much information at our fingertips, but there is something to be said about face to face interaction and getting answers to questions directly from the source or people who are doing the job you might be dreaming about. These are also incredible networking opportunities, and I am very happy that the City can help broaden horizons and open doors that young people might not have thought of or known about,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Francine Higham.
The City’s Libraries and Information Services too have recorded a very good turnout at their career expos so far this year.
Nine libraries hosted events in the first quarter, attracting collective attendance figures of 2 786, and surpassing last year’s figures of 2 440 attendees recorded across 13 events.
The 2025 expos have also seen an expansion in partnerships with higher learning institutions, skills development academies, local high schools, banks as well as non-governmental organisations.
More libraries are set to host expos during the course of the year – the public is advised to contact their local library for more information and guidance on where and when expos are taking place.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
