Project
South Africa: Vocational training and entrepreneurship in townships
By offering relevant vocational training courses that meet the demands of the local labor market and by stimulating entrepreneurship, we help young people in the townships around Johannesburg and Cape Town to develop themselves and their communities sustainably.
Due to the vocational training, the chances of finding a job or own entrepreneurship increase enormously.
In this project we work according to the 'Rhiza cycle', starting a project together with the local community that is combined from the start with the creation of earnings, so that the project is self-sufficient within three years and Rhiza can withdraw. The strength of the 'cycle', developing – producing – acting – reinvesting, lies in doing it together (ownership/buy-in) with the local community, who in this way are jointly responsible for 'building strong communities'. This lays the foundation for continuing the projects in the field of pre-primary education, vocational training, entrepreneurship and health care.
With the vocational training, Rhiza focuses on unemployed youth between the ages of 18 and 35. And that is badly needed, because unemployment among the youth in the townships is no less than 60%. Rhiza offers training courses that match the demand of the local labor market such as Fashion and Design, Financial Administration, Kindergarten, IT, and 'hard skills' (building bricks, welding, etc.). By starting new businesses that meet local demand and further developing existing businesses, Rhiza also creates more employment opportunities in the slums. The development of entrepreneurs and companies takes place in local business hubs. These are business centers with office facilities where the training courses are also given.
Why this project partner
The founder of Rhiza and the brain behind the successful Rhiza cycle is Alef Meulenberg, who is based in South Africa. Together with the local population, he develops communities in which he is supported by the government and the local business community. Dutch companies that want to use Rhiza projects for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) benefit from Alef's entrepreneurial focus. He knows the Dutch and South African culture, has a large local funding system and 'knows the way'. Through co-creation, projects are set up that generate profit for all parties.
How your company can contribute to this project
With company value 'Unleash your excellence', IT company Visualfabriq works closely with Rhiza. In addition to the training, IT professionals from Visualfabriq support young people in Diepsloot with extra guidance, job application training, 1-on-1 coaching and creating CVs and LinkedIn profiles. Practical matters that are educational for both parties; South African youths are even better prepared for the labor market and IT specialists emerge from their 'IT bubble' and learn from South African youths who have to overcome many hurdles before they experience 'Unleash your excellence'. Also something for your company?
