Day one of the oversight visit of the Portfolio Committee coincided with the first day of training for the National Youth Service (NYS) recruits in the Province. These young people had an opportunity to meet with the members of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works who motivated them into working hard in improving their skills by furthering their studies and by being dedicated in their jobs. The NYS programme in the Eastern Cape was launched in November 2009 and 500 young people were recruited to be part of the programme from 27 000 applicants. The programme is a joint venture between the Department of Public Works, the then Umsobomvu and the National Youth Commission which have since changed and collaborated to form the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). These young people will be trained over a period of three months and thereafter be dispersed to different government buildings in the Province where they will be working as general workers. The Department is committed into skilling these young people and study bursaries will be offered to them.