Local businessman upskills community
IDENTIFYING the need for skills development, Zululand businessman Nkosinathi Gumbi established Zizzy Skills Training and Development Centre which is empowering local residents with business, financial, project, and people management training.
Gumbi started his business as a printing café operating in eSikhawini and Empangeni which employed six people. However, in 2018 after completing his studies, he saw a need in the market and established Zizzy Training and Development Centre.
With a BCom honors degree from the University of Zululand, a Master’s degree in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa, and experience in the mining and education industries, Gumbi has grown his business significantly.
‘After extensive travelling around South Africa and engaging different stakeholders in the skills development field, I questioned why there is only one college in eSikhawini,’ said Gumbi.
‘Residents are middle-income earners here and understand the value of education and are willing to pay for their children’s education.
‘I realised that people who are not accepted into institutions of higher learning have nowhere else to go.
‘Equipped with skills and knowledge of SETA accreditation processes, and using the Skills Development Act as a tool, I came up with a solution. That’s how Zizzy Skills Development Centre
was conceptualised.’
Zizzy Training and Development Centre has successfully implemented SETA-funded training for more than 400 students and achieved a 100% competency rate in a space of 24 months, even during the tough times of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recently, the company partnered with RBM’s Rio Tinto Procurement (RTP) and executed an SMMEs development training programme within four host communities where Richards Bay Minerals operates.
The company has three permanent employees and prioritises working with local professionals as facilitators, moderators, and caterers for their events.
Zizzy Training and Development Centre is registered to offer development programmes and works with different SETA organisations in skills and expertise development.