It has been 10 years since Pastor Ron Banet of the Potter's House Christian Fellowship first decided to give residents of the Alexandra Township community, in which he worked, the tools they needed to build lives and careers in South Africa.
Together with Kyocera, he built the Potter's House Training Centre and today there are over 200 technicians gaining hands-on experience so they can work in an industry that wants their newfound skills. Just a glimpse at Careerjet, Indeed.co.za and Trovit show over 100 listings asking for qualified printer technicians. An initiative of this calibre that shows both commitment and an impressive success rate is exactly what South Africa needs.
"From wandering the streets of the townships, feeling discouraged and facing no job opportunities, our programme has given these talented people a chance to see how things work in real life," explains Banet, "We get their foot in the door and suddenly, from hanging around a township with little hope, they have a licence and then a car, they get married and have children and a house."
The Potter's House Training Centre has, thanks to the financial, equipment, consumables and marketing support given by Kyocera, been able to hire Nkosinathi Hadebe, one of the first graduates of the programme, as a full-time trainer for the attendees. He works closely with the candidates who are given access to the latest technology and given valuable skills in photocopier theory and equipment management and repair.
"During the last month of the programme, our candidates volunteer at an office automation reseller," says Banet. "They gain hands-on experience that teaches them how a company works and how to apply the skills they have learned to a real-world environment. What's truly rewarding is that 95% of our volunteers end up staying on as a full-time members of staff at that company."
That's a superb success rate that speaks to the hard work and dedication of those involved in the project. Today, the men and women who walk through the halls of the Potter's House Training Centre are being given the chance to achieve their dreams and start out on their lives, a chance that they would not have had without Kyocera and Paster Banet.
"It gives us all hope for the future, that there still is a future," concludes Wayne Holborn, managing director of Kyocera Document Solutions South Africa. "This is why Kyocera continues to contribute to the programme. The door we provide opens into many different hallways and many of these guys have moved on to other areas of the print industry and careers."
The Kyocera-Potter's House partnership has seen an increase in office automation internship and contributes towards advanced development in the industry by giving less-fortunate individuals the opportunity to broaden their technological knowledge.
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