More than 1,200 learners gathered at the Soshanguve Engineering School of Specialisation on Youth Day as BMW Group South Africa, together with UNICEF South Africa and a network of education and development partners, hosted its fifth annual Youth Day programme.
The event brought together learners, educators, industry professionals and volunteers for a day of science, technology, career guidance, financial literacy and mentorship aimed at helping young people prepare for the opportunities of tomorrow.
At a time when South Africa’s youth unemployment rate among 15 to 24-year-olds stands at 60.9%, according to Statistics South Africa, the journey from classroom to career remains uncertain for millions of young people. Against this backdrop, BMW Group South Africa, together with UNICEF South Africa and a network of education and development partners, brought learners together for a day focused on science, technology, career guidance, financial literacy and future opportunities.
The event transformed the grounds of the Soshanguve Engineering School of Specialisation into a hub of activity. Learners moved between coding and robotics demonstrations, career exhibitions, science experiments and mentorship sessions, engaging with educators, industry professionals and volunteers who offered guidance on everything from subject choices to future careers.
Welcoming learners, educators and guests, school principal Mr Tladi Mashiane reflected on the significance of Youth Day and the responsibility carried by a new generation of young South Africans.
“Today gives us an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and to recognise the important role young people continue to play in our lives,” he said.
Mashiane thanked BMW Group and its partners for their continued investment in the school and its learners, describing the programme as an opportunity for young people to learn, engage and imagine possibilities beyond their immediate circumstances.
Addressing the packed marquee, BMW Group South Africa chief executive officer Peter van Binsbergen delivered a message that would echo throughout the day.
“South Africa is rich in talent. The challenge has always been access and opportunity,” he said.
His words resonated across a school that has become a symbol of what can be achieved when education, industry and community partnerships come together around a common goal.
The Soshanguve Engineering School of Specialisation was originally selected because of its proximity to BMW Group’s Rosslyn manufacturing plant. Over time, however, the relationship has evolved into something far more meaningful.
Today it stands as an example of how long-term investment in education can create opportunities for young people while helping prepare the workforce of the future.
Van Binsbergen reminded learners that while Youth Day commemorates the courage and sacrifices of previous generations, today’s young people face challenges of their own.
“The world today looks nothing like it did in 1976,” he said.
“But 50 years later, the struggle still continues for many. Today it’s about access to quality education, real guidance and real opportunity.”
The automotive industry itself is undergoing profound change. Manufacturing increasingly relies on advanced technology, digital systems, software engineering and data-driven innovation. As industries evolve, so too do the skills they require.
That reality has placed renewed emphasis on STEM education — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — as a pathway to future careers.
Throughout the day, learners engaged with exhibitions, technology demonstrations and career guidance opportunities designed to expose them to possibilities that may once have felt out of reach.
The programme brought together a range of partners committed to youth development. Alongside BMW Group South Africa and UNICEF South Africa, organisations including Sci-Bono, the Old Mutual Foundation and the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry contributed expertise and learning experiences designed to broaden learners’ horizons and expose them to future opportunities.
Van Binsbergen pointed to the school’s recent 100% matric pass rate as evidence of what can be achieved when learners, educators and partners work together.
“We’re so proud to support a school that actively shapes the future of our industry and our country,” he said.
If BMW’s message centred on opportunity, UNICEF South Africa youth engagement specialist Tiisetso Mokoena focused on what happens when young people are equipped to seize it.
Raised in neighbouring Mabopane and educated at a technical school, Mokoena understands first-hand how access to technical education can shape aspirations and open doors.
Through the BMW Group-UNICEF partnership programme, which focuses on coding, robotics and digital learning, more than 95,000 learners across 1,300 schools have already been reached.
“The goal is simple,” he told learners. “To bridge the gap between learning and earning.”
The initiative trains educators, establishes learning hubs and expands access to technology-focused learning opportunities in communities that have historically been excluded from such resources.
For Mokoena, however, the programme is about more than preparing young people for employment.
It is about teaching them how to think.
“The purpose of education is not simply to fill your head with information. It is to teach you how to think.”
Challenging learners to become curious rather than passive recipients of information, he urged them to question, explore and understand the world around them.
“It’s not what other people tell you,” he said. “It’s what you think about yourself and your future.”
His message reflected a growing recognition that future success will depend not only on technical knowledge but on adaptability, resilience and the ability to continue learning throughout life.
The partnership model was evident throughout the day. Learners were introduced to practical applications of science through Sci-Bono’s Combustion Science Show, which transformed scientific principles into interactive demonstrations designed to spark curiosity and enthusiasm for STEM subjects.
Through the BMW Group-UNICEF partnership, learners also engaged with coding, robotics and digital learning experiences aimed at building skills for an increasingly technology-driven economy.
Financial literacy formed another important pillar of the programme. Workshops facilitated by the Old Mutual Foundation encouraged learners to think critically about budgeting, saving and long-term financial planning, while career guidance sessions provided practical information about tertiary education, bursaries and future career pathways.
Together, the various partners contributed to an experience designed not only to inspire learners, but to equip them with practical skills and knowledge that can help shape future opportunities.
Yet the most memorable lesson of the day came not from a robotics demonstration or a career exhibition, but from Ngubeni’s deeply personal account of resilience.
As a teenager, she became a mother and dropped out of school. Later, after leaving a warehouse job where she felt humiliated and undervalued, she found herself unemployed and uncertain about her future.
Determined to return to education, she arrived at a school she had never formally enrolled in and simply refused to give up.
Her path was anything but straightforward.
She struggled academically, failed subjects, changed courses and battled feelings of disappointment and shame.
At one point she became convinced that she would never succeed.
“There was a time in my life where I had written myself off, convinced myself that I would amount to nothing,” she told learners.
The audience listened in silence as she described how she came to believe the negative labels placed on her by others.
“Everybody had written me off, forgetting that God had not written me off.”
The turning point came when she began viewing every opportunity, no matter how small or unexpected, as a stepping stone rather than a setback.
A university programme she initially viewed as a compromise ultimately opened doors she could never have imagined. Educational opportunities took her to Cape Town and later to Germany. Mentorship helped reshape her ambitions and confidence.
Today she holds a doctorate and lectures at university.
Her message to learners was not that success comes easily.
It was that success often arrives through persistence, adaptability and a willingness to seize opportunities that may not look like the ones originally imagined.
“Take it for exactly that — an opportunity — and really apply yourself,” she urged.
For many of the learners present, her story transformed abstract discussions about education and careers into something tangible and deeply personal.
It reinforced the central idea underpinning the event: that talent exists everywhere, but opportunity must be cultivated.
That belief also explains why BMW continues to invest in initiatives that extend beyond traditional classroom learning.
Beyond the formal programme, BMW Group South Africa employees volunteered as mentors, guides and facilitators throughout the day, helping learners navigate career options and engage with various activities.
Their involvement reflected a broader philosophy articulated by Van Binsbergen.
“No single organisation can close the opportunity gap on its own,” he said.
The collaboration between BMW Group, UNICEF, schools, educators and development organisations reflects a growing understanding that preparing young people for the future requires collective action.
As the formal programme drew to a close, Van Binsbergen returned to the theme that had framed the day from the beginning.
“You may not always feel it, but your future is in your hands,” he told learners.
“The subjects you choose to study, the questions you dare to ask and the effort you put in right now unlock the doors for your futures.”
Whether every learner who attended the programme ultimately becomes an engineer, software developer, entrepreneur or educator remains to be seen. What was clear throughout the day, however, was a shared belief that potential exists in every classroom. The challenge, as Van Binsbergen put it, is ensuring that opportunity reaches it.
For BMW Group, that investment extends beyond supporting schools or sponsoring annual events.
As he reminded learners, the company is building more than vehicles.
“What we’re really building is confidence and capability.”