An ambitious new vocational skills training centre in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, is poised to transform youth-based job creation, skills development and economic vitality in the region.
Co-funding the Al-Fidaa Foundation-inspired development, the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT) has pumped R1,8 million into the diverse centre’s establishment, which includes a computer laboratory, Baking School, Sewing School and culinary school.
Commenting on its financial input to the project, SAMCT representative, Mr Faried Boltman, said: “This vocational skills training centre has the potential to give realisation to a future where sustainable growth, development and prosperity are within the reach, unlocking a brighter future for the youth of this embattled part of the Western Cape.”
According to the Al-Fidaa Foundation, the new centre will focus on empowering individuals from underserved communities, providing them with the necessary skills to gain employment and achieve financial independence.
Mr Boltman said: “The Foundation’s vital initiative opens a new chapter in vocational education and entrepreneurial development in the Cape Town area and we, of the SAMCT, are proud to have become a financial partner in its establishment. The work of this centre will assist significantly in empowering the region’s youth with the critical skills necessary to succeed in the modern economy.”
The Al-Fidaa Foundation was initially created to assist the needy in the Eastern Cape, an area plagued with poor infrastructure, unemployment and high levels of poverty and where some 72% of its population lives below the breadline. By focusing on three elements, namely, feeding schemes, skills development and social welfare projects, the Al-Fidaa Foundation has worked tirelessly towards giving effect to meaningful change in the communities it serves. In light of its success, the organisation has expanded its operations to create a national footprint and has been involved in the development of skills training for the unemployed since 2012.
“Given South Africa’s unacceptably high unemployment rate, the establishment of skills development centres – such as the Al-Fidaa Foundation’s initiative – is not just necessary, but an imperative for sustainable change, affording the youth the tools to build a more prosperous future for themselves and, by extension, their communities. Accordingly, the SAMCT was quick to recognise the soundness of developing the Mitchells Plain vocational skills training centre and was eager to assist the Al-Fidaa Foundation realise its vision, by co-funding the centre’s creation,” Mr Boltman said.
The SAMCT was created in 2008, the result of a partnership between Old Mutual Unit Trusts and Al Baraka Bank, for the creation, marketing and distribution of a suite of Shariah Funds. The organisation provides funding, services and other resources to improve the lives of the vulnerable, deprived and disadvantaged. It has successfully delivered sizeable assistance solutions throughout South Africa – irrespective of race or religion – and continues to work to support needy organisations in the fields of healthcare, social development, poverty alleviation and education.
“Located in a bustling market hub and close to a bus and taxi rank, the new centre is ideally positioned to best assist the unemployed and historically disadvantaged youth of Mitchells Plain and surrounds to now pursue educational and self-development opportunities by acquiring marketable skills by way of the centre’s diverse range of programmes,” Mr Boltman added.
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For more information about the SAMCT or its co-funding of the Al-Fidaa Foundation’s vocational skills training centre, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Executive
Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za
www.samct.co.za