Pathways to Success Expo Empowers West Rand Grade 12 Learners.
Thabo Motlhabi
The event inspires hundreds of grade 12 learners to choose careers that align with their skills and talents. Onthuto Consultancy successfully hosted a Pathways to Success career expo 2026, a three-day empowerment initiative aimed at helping grade 12 learners make informed career choices and prepare for the world of work.
The impactful event took place at the Memorial and Recreation Centre, Kagiso 2, from 04 Monday to 06 Wednesday, May 2026, and brought together learners from across the West Rand District.
Onthuto Consultancy is a youth development, and SMMEs support Consultancy based in West Rand township of Kagiso 2, Established in 2022, and be effective on 2025 with various programs for community developments. It works to cover the intersection of career guidance, skills development, and community empowerment, with a focus on townships and rural learners who deserve access to real opportunities.
The expo focused on bridging the gap between the classroom and the workplace by encouraging learners to align their studies with their skills, talents, passions, and market demands. Learners were guided on how to make meaningful career decisions instead of simply chasing qualifications without purpose.
Stakeholders join hands for youth development.
Partnerships with Gauteng Department of Basic Education and Mogale City Local Municipality Public Safety made the event successful.
* Gauteng Department of Basic Education
* Mogale City Local Municipality Public Safety
* AFDA
* Rose Bank International College
* Regent Business School
* With a university
* Skills Development Corporation
* Brewster’s Academy
* Haha, Dipudi Foundation
* Fruit of Education
Schools that participated in the Pathways to Success Career Expo
* West Rand District
* Merafong City
* Mogale City
* Rand West City
Co-founder of Onthuto Consultancy, Miss Rosina Kefilwe Moroane, encouraged learners during the expo sessions to focus on becoming work-ready individuals.
The world doesn’t have a shortage of graduates; it has a shortage of useful, work-ready people. Don’t chase a qualification simply because it sounds safe or because it looks like everyone else’s CVs. Ask yourself, ‘What problem can I solve?’ What value can I add from day one? The future belongs to those who add value, not those who hold papers.”
The sessions also gave learners an opportunity to interact directly with academics, professionals, and motivational speakers who shared practical career advice and answered questions openly.
Leadership and Change Readiness: Facilitator Mr Freedom Munukha highlighted the importance of introducing career guidance earlier in schools’ career expos:
“It’s extremely important for learners and students to choose the right career path; however, by grade 12, learners should ideally already be at the stage of finalising applications and beginning the enrolment process for tertiary institutions. While it’s never too late to seek guidance, I strongly believe that career expos are even more impactful when introduced at the grade 11 level. This allows learners sufficient time to align their academic performance with the admissions requirements of the institutions and careers they aspire towards. It can be very discouraging for learners to discover too late that they don’t meet the required admission points because they were unaware of the academic expectations attached to their chosen fields.”
Although there were challenges pertaining to the success of the expo, such as logistics and sponsorships, organisers who are doing community work with passion and commitment did their utmost best to make it successful. They served learners lunch in full for three days.
The informative session directly informed learners about how to choose the right career path, guided by professionals.