Making a difference in our communities
“Before embarking on this journey with PMI, I was unemployed looking for employment. It changed my life completely because I used to have the mentality of looking for employment, now I have the mentality of creating employment.” – Nomfundiso Mkhize
Last year, Adcorp Training was tasked with assisting one of our clients based in Richards Bay by looking for a way to utilise their training budget to make a real difference in their community.
The goal here was to find training solutions that assist the local community whilst tackling the high unemployment rate in Richards Bay. Through this connection, their bursary solution came to fruition. Fifty learners were ready to embark on a learning journey that would change the course of their lives. Adcorp Training Solutions wanted to create more than just a straightforward training programme for these learners by getting their business up and running.
“From all that I’ve achieved business wise, it’s all thanks to the PMI programme that taught me so much about business.” – Sibonelo Twala
As part of the Entrepreneurship Programme, PMI ran its Higher Certificate in Business Management to give these learners a full qualification, coupled with the added entrepreneurship programme to assist them with marketing and research of business opportunities in the area. This included assistance with writing their business plans to source funding, getting the businesses registered and operational later down the line.
When asked what advice they would give to our youth, one of the learner’s, Charles Thabede declared with enthusiasm,
“I would say you are never too young to start. Use every opportunity you can to learn and prepare for your future. You are going to encounter very hard challenges that will encourage you to give up, but never allow that thought. Keep persisting and believing in your dreams.”
On top of the formal training, PMI ensured that these learners were equipped with IT training and laptops prior to their official start date to make sure that they could make the absolute best of the opportunity. We knew that realistically not all of these learners would be successful in starting a business, but they took this opportunity by the reins. We are very proud that all of the learners in this programme graduated.
Armed with new business knowledge, having completed the PMI programme, we asked the learner’s what they would have done sooner to get to where they want to be faster. Sibonelo Twala weighed in,
“I would have changed my mindset about the way I perceived business. I always thought that to start a business, you need to have millions. But the fact is, you can start a business with the little that you have.”
One of the company’s born as a result of this programme, called Nommy Group, were sponsored by PMI and have registered their company and become operational. They were also selected as one of the top 15 finalists out of around 200 submissions for the Winetech Pitching Den that took place in Cape Town in September 2019. They ended up with a 5th place overall.
The competition provides a platform for identifying promising agricultural and technological innovations that can potentially be implemented to help address issues like climate change, water usage, conservation and more, particularly in the wine production industry of South Africa.
The Innovation Summit was a fantastic opportunity for them to network, market and accelerate their business, as a number of investors, incubators and industry professionals attend looking to engage with the finalists.
When asked about their journey and experience with PMI and Adcorp Training, Sibonelo Twala elaborated,
“I had recently finished my National Diploma in Information Technology, so I was busy looking for a job when I received this life-changing opportunity. I had an amazing journey learning with PMI, from the professionalism of their facilitators to the learning environment. I would surely recommend PMI to anyone because of the wonderful journey I had with them.”
This is one of the many ways that the Adcorp Group connects potential.
One of these graduates is making waves with her new company and her passion for environmental conservation. Check out her success story.
Expand your horizons with Adcorp Training and PMI.
If you’re interested in furthering your career, starting a business or looking for a worthy programme to spend your bursary budget on then PMI’s Higher Certificate in Business Management is a great investment.
About Adcorp
Across the Group we have a number of end-to-end workplace solutions solving a wide range of business challenges. We search, place, develop, train and manage people for temporary and permanent job opportunities. We also supply people resources on an outsourced basis and manage people-intensive processes on behalf of our clients. Our mission is to build workplaces and careers of the future by transforming the places we work in. We do this by connecting potential.