Free food industry training available
AN organisation in Stellenbosch is offering 12 unemployed people from the area free training in food preparation and to place them in jobs.
Stellemploy has made it its business to give youth from the area a fighting chance.
According to Stellemploy’s Betta Augstyn: “It doesn’t cost the students anything. Every year we write proposals and then we approach sponsors to sponsor our intake.”
Office manager Gaino Segers said: “This is an ideal opportunity for school-leavers to prepare themselves for the hospitality industry.”
In other years, Stellemploy has provided courses in carpentry, painting and decorating, plumbing and electrical work.
Augustyn said: “In 2011, Stellemploy approached Distell to partner with the Swiss-South African Cooperation Initiative to fund a pilot programme to train 12 chef students over a period of 12 months.
“The programme was a resounding success and today one of the students, Marvin Robyn, is a head chef at Grande Provence, the wellknown wine estate restaurant near Franschhoek.
“Another of the students, JamyLee Schruder, is a sous chef at Cuvée at Simonsig Estate, Stellenbosch, while other students who completed the chef programme in recent years are working at popular restaurants in and around Stellenbosch, including Delaire Graff, Makaron, Eike and Volkskombuis.”
Meanwhile, the Stellenbosch Municipality has partnered with the Western Cape Treasury to present bursary opportunities for unemployed youth who live permanently in the Stellenbosch municipal area.
Through this initiative, the municipality wants to assist unemployed young people who have the potential to succeed in higher education institutions to reach their goals and chase their dreams.
The criteria and application form are available from the municipal website
Municipal communications manager Stuart Grobbelaar said: “The municipality continually looks for innovative and creative ways of creating opportunities for the youth of Stellenbosch.
“We regularly partner with local organisations for skills-development initiatives through Stellenbosch’s Mayoral Skills Development Fund.
“We urge local youth to keep an eye out on our social media pages as well– Facebook: Stellenbosch Municipality, Twitter :@ S tell Mu n–as we share opportunities for training on a regular basis,” Grobbelaar said.