THE Westown Foundation, in collaboration with Stefanutti Stocks Academy, launched the 2 700 sqm Westown Training Centre on the site of the new city of the west, Westown Shongweni. The Westown Foundation with a focus on skills development, education and literacy, has been 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. The new centre was officially opened by eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda.
Stefanutti Stocks has been developing and offering internal industry best-practice training since 2010. In February 2023, the company introduced the Stefanutti Stocks Academy and offers CETA-accredited Plant Operator training and an accredited Apprenticeship Programme to cater to the skills training requirements of the Group. The academy’s courses are presented by Stefanutti Stocks’ registered facilitators, assessors, and moderators.
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, both in the immediate area and further afield, to live, work and thrive in the long term.
Outer West lagging
“The Outer-West has lagged behind many of the province’s regions in terms of development, investment and growth opportunities, and the Westown Foundation has been set up to facilitate and amplify local socio-economic opportunities that the development of Westown will create in the surrounding communities,” says chairperson of the Westown Foundation, Sean Bergsma.
Over the next two years, the training facility, constructed by the Stefanutti Stocks Academy, will provide development and training opportunities for up to 15 qualifying individuals per intake, to accumulate knowledge, gain experience, increase their employability, and be CETA-certified in certain specific construction skills. These include construction hand tools, safety awareness, brickwork, plaster, painting, basic concrete, reinforcing and formwork training. A construction plant simulator, equipped with a variety of modules for Operator training and staffed by qualified trainers, will give trainees a sense of life ‘on the job’.
It is anticipated that over the two years, 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.
“Wherever and whenever possible, Stefanutti Stocks offers development opportunities to individuals from the community even if they are not directly employed on the project/s we are working on,” says managing director of Stefanutti Stocks Coastal Civils Discipline, Matthew Horwill.
“Our community operator training will create capacity beyond the project’s requirement, thus contributing to a provincial pool of accredited, local surface machinery operators that are able to offer an accredited skill when seeking employment on other developments and construction sites across the province.”
Literacy and community
The launch of the Westown Training Centre sees the roll-out of two key book-end projects for the Westown Foundation – education at the one end and job creation at the other. Working in conjunction with The Learn Project, The Westown Foundation will fund the installation of Book Corners (reading spaces) in a primary school in each of the two wards in which Westown is located. “Literacy is not just about the joy of being able to access a world of stories and imagination, it builds the foundation for critical thinking and problem solving that, in turn, develops empowered communities,” says Westown Place Marketing & Communication executive, Cara Reilly.
“The launch of the Westown Training Centre is the first of many socio-economic and community development projects the Westown Foundation will be involved in over the coming years and we want to ensure that each of them has a meaningful and lasting impact. This is why we have started this journey with partners like the Stefanutti Stocks Academy and The Learn Project, which have proven track records of good planning and long-term success,” concluded CEO Fundamentum Dev Co (FDC), Carlos Correia.
Developing the City together
Addressing the audience at the official opening in Shongweni last week eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda said: “Currently, the unemployment rate in the city stands at 33.8% which is 630 000 people, and the hardest-hit sector of our population is the youth. As the city, we have committed to half this high rate of unemployment by 2026 and we are fully aware that the municipality alone cannot be able to achieve this target.
“More importantly, we want to create an environment where communities feel they are part of the investments surrounding them. And this initiative by Westown Foundation does precisely that because it seeks to empower locals by establishing skills development programmes,” Kaunda said.
The mayor said that one of the special purpose vehicles which can be used to achieve community development and employment is the Enterprise Supplier Development Fund (ESD) which the municipality launched in October 2021.
“We want to make a call to our corporate partners and industry stakeholders to take advantage of this ESD Fund platform by pledging support in order to ensure that we implement a truly integrated world-class enterprise and supplier development programme,” he said.
The mayor outlined the four key areas of the programme focus, namely, the Infrastructure Fund, Enterprise and Supplier Development Fund, Youth Fund and Social Development Fund.
