The 22nd of November marked the graduation ceremony for the first 38 training graduates qualified at the WESTOWN TRAINING CENTRE through the skills development programmes presented by the STEFANUTTI STOCKS ACADEMY.
These programmes kicked off in April 2023 when the Westown Training Centre was opened on the site of the new City of the West, Westown Shongweni by eThekwini Mayor, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda. This was done in collaboration with the WESTOWN FOUNDATION and the STEFANUTTI STOCKS ACADEMY. The value of the training provided to date is R340 000, in addition to the capital costs of establishing and running the training facility.
The Westown Foundation is a non-profit organisation focused on skills development, education and literacy. It was set up to foster the sustainable participation of the greater Shongweni community in the socio-economic and environmental opportunities that the development of Westown will create, through a series of partnerships.
The first of these partnerships is with Stefanutti Stocks which has been developing and offering industry best-practice and accredited training and skills development programmes since 2010. The construction contractor now offers its CETA-accredited training programmes through the Westown Training Centre, and these are presented by Stefanutti Stocks accredited and registered assessors and moderators.
The first group of 38 graduates, ranging in age from 20 and 50, are from Wards 7 and 103 (the wards surrounding Westown.) The skills learnt by these graduates include steel and timber formwork; assembly and installation of reinforcing, basic concrete work, the use and maintenance of hand tools, health and safety applications and environmental awareness. Thirteen (13) of the recruits were trained in heavy earth-moving machine operation using the on-site simulator. To date, five graduates have been employed on site with many more expected to gain employment as the skills demand of the project increases and more trainees graduate.
“Both the Westown Foundation and the Stefanutti Stocks Academy have skills development and literacy as cornerstones that will enable self-sufficient local communities to access opportunities to live, work and thrive for the long term. Our partnership ensures we can amplify local socio-economic opportunities that the development of Westown will create in the surrounding communities,” says SEAN BERGSMA, CHAIRPERSON OF THE WESTOWN FOUNDATION.
The third group of 23 learners, still in training, are expected to complete their course in December with graduation in early 2024.
“Where-ever and whenever possible, Stefanutti Stocks offers development opportunities to individuals from the community even if they are not directly employed on the projects we are working on. This ensures we are contributing to a provincial pool of accredited, and skilled construction workers and operators,” says MATTHEW HORWILL, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STEFANUTTI STOCKS COASTAL.
It is anticipated that over the next two-year period 60-80 Operators will qualify and around 500 people will pass through the Academy equipped with the relevant skills to find work in the construction sector within the province, some of which will be at Westown.
“We are happy to see the community’s eagerness to learn, participate in, and attend classes at the Stefanutti Stocks Academy,” says Stefanutti Stocks Group Training Manager Thulani Ngobeni. “B.B. King once said that ‘the beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you,’ – and I concur. Our training programmes are providing participants with valuable skills and experience, that they will be able to utilise while developing and growing in their future working lives.”
See more images of the graduation in our gallery.