Johannesburg, 25 June 2025 – While STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) is familiar to most of us, STEMi may be less so; the “i” is for innovation and there will be much of that on offer at the Youth4STEMi Career Day on June 27.
The event, to be held at the SEIFSA Training Centre on June 27, will offer young people the chance to meet South Africans who have chosen to pursue STEM-related careers.
Mapitje MD Meta Tladi, who is organising the career day with SEIFSA, says she hopes greater exposure to the many trade-related careers will encourage more young people to become artisans.
“There is a huge need to inform young people about studying a trade. The career day will bring people who are doing well in various trades to the young people, so they can learn about them,” says Tladi.
“Experts — each representing a letter of STEMi — have been so kind to avail themselves.”
Zamazizi Dlamini, a nuclear physicist and MBA graduate, will represent Science; Mduduzi Malatsi from the Thuthukisa Innovation Hub will represent Technology; Maureen Ramaube, a mechanical engineer and PhD candidate in atmospheric science, will represent Engineering; Paul Reitz, a data scientist, will represent Mathematics; and Malatsi will represent Innovation.
The STEMi experts will take part in panel discussions, interactive exhibits and live demonstrations as well as providing the young people with networking opportunities.
For the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) promoting STEM and encouraging young people to study is part of its commitment to closing South Africa’s skills gap. “We have made a strategic decision to support and invest in the SEIFSA Training Centre and are committed addressing the crippling skills deficit,” says SEIFSA CEO Lucio Trentini.
Mabandla Nhlapo, Human Capital and Skills Development Adviser at SEIFSA, says that a profound change is taking place in the South African economy, one that will challenge perceptions and provide the youth with new possibilities.
“For many years, blue-collar professions in South Africa … have been perceived as second-tier career choices. Our young people are encouraged by parents to pursue a university education and to seek employment in white-collar corporate jobs.”
But technical and vocational skills are now emerging as “the most sought-after jobs”, both locally and globally, he says.
SEIFSA’s focus on the importance of the trades and their universal application is evident in its support of the Training Centre, which offers accredited occupational apprenticeship programmes in nine trades, specialised short courses in the engineering field, safety training, production technology training and other non-accredited and accredited courses.
Tladi agrees with Nhlapo that there is a need to change the way many young people view the trades — and not as a choice for learners who have limited choices.
“There is still a misunderstanding of who can pursue these trades as well as the jobs that are actually available. Many young people do not even know what an artisan is, and there are also misconceptions about what these types of careers involve.
“An expo like the STEMi Career Day provides learners and even students from technical colleges and university to be properly informed and understand careers in STEM. There will never be a time when we can do without artisans, there will always be a demand for them.”
The STEMi Career Day 2025 — a day of career-focused discussions, exhibits and demonstrations for 150 Matric and tertiary students — will take place at the SEIFSA Training Centre on Friday, June 27.
SEIFSA is a national federation representing 16 independent employer associations in the metal and engineering industries, with a combined membership of over 1 300 companies employing over 140 000 employees. The federation was formed in 1943 and its member companies range from giant steel-making corporations to micro-enterprises employing fewer than 50 people.
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Author: Sabrina Geromella from Angelfish PR & Events on behalf of SEIFSA.
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