Fabric and job creation: cut from the same cloth
Training, fashion and style is the perfect package for duo
East Londoners Nobuzwe Mabona and Elaine Scholtz share two passions: fabric and job creation. And both want to create a new opportunities for people in the clothing and textile industry.
Mabona has reached an agreement with Xinjiang University in China to take 15 students in 2020.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky,” she said. “I approached them earlier in the year and they liked the idea of taking in students for six months on a bursary basis.”
Mabona owns Afro Child in Zwelitsha. Her company does unique clothing and textile design.
“After a career with the SABC, I resigned and turned to my artistic ability in fabric design. I went to China, visited several places and ended up studying at Xinjiang University.
“Things took off after that. I sourced finances and the university helped me to buy machines and send them to SA. They assisted me in setting up a factory,” Mabona said.
“I have been lucky. My work is in demand and it sells really well. But a while ago I realised there was something missing in my life.
“I needed to give back. And that was when I got the idea of assisting young people to break into the industry. So I used the great contacts I have in China and pitched a proposal to them.”
She said the broad plan was for her to take on 15 trainees who would work in her shop for a year. They would be exposed to all facets of the work.
Those who proved they had an aptitude for the work and demonstrated the sort of passion that she had for the job would get to work and study in China.
“One aspect that is really important is the Chinese work ethic. Those people work incredibly hard. They are accurate, fast and they deliver. It is the sort of dedication we need in the local industry.”
Scholtz’s vision is strikingly similar to Mabona’s, although their product range is very different.
Scholtz owns Gonubie company Creative Textile Design, which specialises in bedding.
“We do anything from small retail to BnBs and hotels, right through to hospitals.
“Sadly our demand exceeds our ability to supply, because SA only has one fabric manufacturer that makes the linen we need. If we import we need to order far more than we use so the holding costs are high.”
She said the quality of workers coming out of the large training academies and those who had worked in big factories was mostly good, but her concern was that they were all one-dimensional.
“When people applied to work for me, I discovered that they could do only one task on the garment, or in our case bedding linen.
“For me they were in fact unemployable because I need people who are flexible, with a skill range across the business.”
However, it was relatively easy to train people who understood the trade.
“I think the local industry is going to have to change if we want to compete with imports.
“One of these changes could quite easily be a move to pay people for finished garments, which is not always possible, especially in massive factories. But for boutique producers, as I am, it is very possible and I believe a significant win-win.”
She said a skilled worker could churn out 50 duvets, with matching pillow slips, in a shift.
“If go flat-out I can do to 40. A person doing 50 makes a good wage.”
Scholtz want to set up a small academy that focuses on multiskilling.
“I have approached several government departments who have visited the shop. They love the designs and say funding would be easy. That’s the last I hear of them. I’m now looking for a private investor, and early discussions are very positive.”