It was surely the most important few hours of his life; an opportunity to pursue the career of his dreams and the culmination of many years of hard work… We remember Andrew’s internship interview like it was yesterday; the nervous trip down the mountain from his house in Grabouw and the moment he first met TFD Manufacturing Director Ian Jacobs and talked about why he was passionate about metalwork. We also remember his first tour around the factory; his eyes wide and a broad grin on his face as he quietly took it all in. And then the moment none of us will forget; the handshake as Ian turned to Andrew and said: “you can start on Monday.”
Unlike most young adults, SOS Africa’s oldest sponsored child and first Western Cape graduate had always known the exact career he wanted to pursue. Andrew grew up working with metal, spending hours in the workshop with his uncle working on one project after another. When he graduated from Primary School, it was clear that he wasn’t suited to academia; the place where he truly thrived was the workshop. Consequently, he enrolled at Westcliffe School of Skills where he received an education which balanced academics with learning invaluable trade skills including his favourite of all, welding.
Andrew thrived at Westcliffe. As he grew in confidence, we received glowing reports from his teachers; all had high expectations for this determined young lad. During his latter years he was appointed into leadership roles at the school; this once shy and reclusive boy now carried an air of pride and authority. Andrew graduated from Westcliffe with excellent results but, as if often the case, struggled to find his way into an already saturated job market. Then, thanks to the help of Lorraine Emery from SOS Africa partner charity The Village Collaboration, an interview was lined up for an internship at local steel manufacturing company TFD Manufacturing. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Nearly 2 months into the role, Andrew is in his element. At TFD he will be trained in a whole host of manufacturing processes. Already, he has been tutored in boiler making and fitting, welding preparation, tacking and cleaning. We have already received excellent feedback from his supervisor Heinrich Ahrens: “Andrew is hardworking and always on time… He gets the job done and doesn’t waste any time.”
And indeed, the best news of all is that if Andrew’s supervisors can identify an area within which he really thrives, it is likely that they might be able to offer him long-term employment at the end of the internship. Congratulations Andrew! We cannot wait to follow your progress over the coming months at the start of what we hope is an exciting and fulfilling career in industry!
Our dream is to create similar training and internship opportunities for ambitious and committed young adults across the Western Cape. Not only is it clear that not every child is suited to academia but with the correct training and experience they are more likely to be able to fulfil their ambitions whilst achieving long-term and sustainable employment. Our care worker training programme for example is already providing training and employment for 10 budding young carers from Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and we hope to be able to provide similar opportunities across other industries in the future.
