Construction firm dishes up WIL opportunities

The National Skills Fund (NSF) launched a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) proposal during the 2015/16 financial year. The roll-out of these projects commenced during the 2016/17 financial year.

Towards the end of October 2016, The Royal Dish, primarily a construction company with a level 4 grading with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) was given an opportunity by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through the NSF to offer work exposure to young people from various Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.

The Royal Dish offers learners opportunities to network with small and medium enterprises that the company has partnered with to provide in service training opportunities for  students. Through their business associates, partners and government, the organisation is playing an important role in solving the unemployment challenge of the country and making a concerted effort in providing platforms for launching careers of young people, facilitating career paths, training and nurturing the future business leaders of tomorrow.

Civil technician trainee, Nkateko Hlungane is on the rise and nowhere near running out of steam.

Ntateko Hlungane has acquired valuable skills in road maintenance and pothole patching.

For Nkateko her path seems to be clear. Staying motivated is important to her and she does this by listening to motivational speeches whenever time permits.

Nkateko admits that calculating road marking quantities wasn’t easy at first, but she managed to rise up to the challenge.

Familiarising herself with new construction terms was important when drawing prices and billing for work done.

One of Ntateko’s highlights thus far has been when she was assigned the task to lead and manage people at a construction site. She was given an opportunity to lead a team of people in a task of potholes patching and road markings.

Her communication skills improved as she was working with a diverse group of people with different behavioural aptitudes, language and beliefs. This gave her the opportunity to brush up on her leadership and management skills. Some of the techniques that Nkateko has been actively pursuing to contribute to her career growth include doing more research, seeking more advice and aligning with people who encourage, groom and motivate her.

On the advice she can give to other trainees she borrows from the words of Dr David M. Burns who was quoted as saying: “Aim for success and not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.”

Source: National Skills Fund