In the face of adversity, the Mother City has shattered barriers and lit up a path to empower young men and women in the clothing and textile sector. The City of Cape Town, in partnership with the Craft and Design Institute , proudly celebrated the graduation of 119 learners from the Cape Skills and Employment Accelerator.
The programme offered NQF-level 4 training and workplace opportunities for unemployed youth and women as part of a 12-month learnership, with a view to the 27 CDI member SMMEs employing the women as machinists at the end of the project. Elk added that it was not just a skills development project for youth – the CDI placed emphasis on the development of each business and their capacity to grow.
Addressing all the graduates, she said: ‘All of you are so much further than where you were last year, you’ve all come a long way. Siphokazi has now started working permanently and there is no way I was going to let her go. When you have a good thing, you don’t let it go!