Twenty four unemployed people from the small community of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape have been given an opportunity to improve their construction sector skills by the Coega Development Corporation (CDC).
The 24 people were trained on the following technical skills: bricklaying and plastering, electrical, carpentry, painting and decoration. This follows the recent commencement of the Hamburg Clinic construction, a R26.5-million project being implemented by the CDC on behalf of the Department of Health.
The project has created more than 40 job opportunities and it is envisaged that the trained individuals will be absorbed by the project as semi-skilled workers.
“Our aim in providing this training is to stimulate the competencies of unemployed people, particularly the youth, in technical skills to boost their chances of getting employment in this project in the first instance. This will go a long way in overcoming the high unemployment rate and lack of skills, as well as reduce the number of poverty-stricken people, in the area,” says Thobeka Gaxamba, CDC recruitment manager.
