In less than a year, Puseletso Sechogela went from carpentry graduate to full-time administrator, and then computer skills facilitator, assessor and moderator – a trajectory she says she never saw coming.

The 32-year-old from Kuruman is a graduate of the Portable Skills Programme by Anglo American’s Kumba Iron Ore. It offers young people in its host communities accredited trade training in disciplines such as carpentry, plumbing, welding and bricklaying.

Sechogela enrolled in November 2024. When her six-month carpentry course concluded in June 2025, she left the B-Safe Africa Academy, the accredited institution that partnered with Kumba to provide the training, with a new trade qualification, a toolkit and plans to start her own small business.

A day later, she received a call: B-Safe Africa wanted her back as an administrator.

“They told me: ‘We saw your potential, your drive and the effort you put in. That’s what made you stand out.’ They recognised my background as a receptionist and administrator, along with my computer qualifications, and that’s where they placed me,” she says.

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Within three months, Sechogela had moved into a facilitation role. By October 2025, she was running the computer lab. She has since qualified as both an assessor and a moderator, funding the certifications herself.

Today, she facilitates computer skills training, supports human resources (HR) administration and volunteers in the kitchen whenever extra hands are needed.

“I didn’t even know I had this potential,” she says. “When I was at home, I did not understand what my potential was or what I could do. Working in an environment that you love is the most important thing.”

Going beyond the basics

That outcome was not accidental. Sechogela went beyond the required coursework, completing the computer literacy module alongside her trade training.

“I like to learn,” she says simply. It was that initiative that caught her manager’s attention and opened the door to employment.

A wife and mother of two, she had been a stay-at-home mother building her skills for years. The call inviting her to interview for the programme was the moment that opened a new chapter.

Her message to young people in the Northern Cape is straightforward: “The short courses that people often undermine are the ones that gave me confidence. Engage with the opportunities in front of you. Volunteer if you can. And be patient.”