At least 35 people from different wards in subcouncil 13 graduated after they completed skills development training.
The course, offered by the City of Cape Town concluded with the graduation on Thursday 13 June. The graduates were given certificates and toolboxes during the ceremony held at the Alphen Centre in Constantia.
There were nine people from Ward 34 (Philippi), nine from Ward 36 (Crossroads), four from Ward 37 (Nyanga), five from Ward 39 (Gugulethu) and eight from Ward 80 (Philippi).
Ward 37 councillor Sandile Martin who was part of the programme said it was the first for subcouncil 13. He said instead of doing a one day programme they decided to take a different approach to empower young people with skills.
“We had various training skills like carpentry, bricklaying, welding and plumbing. So, each person was choosing a skill of his or her choice. It was three weeks of training. And in those three weeks, the two weeks were theoretical and a week practical,” explained Martin.
All participants are unemployed.
Their aim was to empower them with skills so that they can become self-employed. He continued that he wished for them to work as a group instead of individuals.
“Out of all these wards only Ward 39 was accommodating people with the ages above 35 years old. All other wards their ages were between 18 to 35 years of age. The training was paid from the ward allocation budget,” he said. He contributed R100 000 for the four participants from his ward.
One of the graduates from Ward 36, Anele Lumkwana, who was doing plumbing said the training was an eye opener for him. He said he was honoured to be among the graduates at the event.
“It was a great experience for me. Now I am able to start my own business. I will start working here in my area just to get an exposure and experience as well,” said Lumkwana.
