Afrika Tikkun opens world-class skills training centre

OWN CORRESPONDENT

Afrika Tikkun said in a media release this training centre will focus on career development and giving young people the skills they need to enter the job market. The opening marks the integration of a formal skills development training facility into the Afrika Tikkun Cradle to Career model.

Onyi Nwaneri, head of marketing and development at Afrika Tikkun, says that the new Belron Training Centre was established in response to a need to extend Afrika Tikkun’s existing skills development programme.

“We know that unemployment is a big issue and when people migrate from rural to urban areas to look for work, they come to the inner-city and settle here in Hillbrow, Yeoville and Berea,” Nwaneri said. The addition of the training centre, which includes two computer labs and two lecture rooms, will significantly increase Afrika Tikkun’s existing capacity.

The centre will provide training in both hard and soft skills, including the Absa Ready to Work programme, EQ life skills, end-user computer skills and some vocational skills.

Nwaneri said that Afrika Tikkun was also in talks with a major technology giant to provide  e-learning platforms and training opportunities , which would enable beneficiaries to upskill themselves on any subject through experts from around the world.

The training centre was made possible through Afrika Tikkun’s 16-year-long partnership with Belron. Belron Global CEO Gary Lubner says that although Belron now operates in 34 countries across the globe, it hasn’t forgotten it roots, “Belron started in Johannesburg and through the annual Spirit of Belron Triathlon it continues to give back to where it came from.”

 Over the years, Belron has become a strategic partner in the development of Afrika Tikkun’s Cradle to Career model and programmes, helping the organisation grow from strength to strength.

For Leonie van Tonder, COO of Afrika Tikkun, the transformation of the 100-year-old building into a space where young people can “think, dream and learn”, was a team effort.