This Women’s Month, Samsung is shining the spotlight on and celebrating female artisans that participated and recently graduated from the 24-month SETA-accredited Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician Apprenticeship programme.

This apprenticeship has since its inception been driven through a successful public, private partnership (PPP) – under Samsung’s multi-million worth Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (“EEIP”) working in close collaboration with the Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training Centre (EASTC), the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA).

The main objective of this Apprenticeship programme is to increase the prospects of the country’s youth, more importantly young, female artisans for employability or entrepreneurship. It was started and sponsored by Samsung when the company became aware of the country’s critical shortage of technicians to service consumer electronics and hand-held devices in the market.

The thriving collaboration between private sector and government is helping to achieve the common objective of empowering young female artisans through innovation and is providing them with the necessary training in Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) skills to enhance their chances to do better for themselves.

These incredible, female artisans who participated and graduated from this programme, which started in June 2020, have managed to complete all the apprenticeship requirements, including trade-testing, to be certified by EWSETA as qualified technicians. When asked about their experience during and after the programme, this is what two recent, female graduates had to say:

Mmakena Mavis Molele, who currently stays in Tembisa but is originally from Limpopo said: “When I finished matric, I didn’t have money to study further. I was lucky enough to find an advert on social media on the Samsung EEIP EASTC Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician Apprenticeship programme. I applied and was accepted. I learnt a lot from this programme. My skills now include; how to install an aircon; I can also do fault-finding on freezer and cold rooms; and I also learnt soft skills such as how to be a team player.”

Mmakwena believes that her life is much better now that she is a qualified artisan. The skills and qualifications she received have improved her level of awareness. “I’m grateful to Samsung and EASTC, because I was able to open my own business as a result of of this opportunity. Becoming a successful entrepreneur has been a life-long dream of mine”, she said.

“I would like to encourage other young women to also pursue their dreams. My belief is that if you do what you love, then success will follow. Also, if you go into a field similar to mine, then you need to use your hands to market yourself because your skill and how good you are will become your tools for success,” Mmakwena emphasised.

Innocentia Nkopane, a 37-year old mother of three – originally from Lesotho but was raised in Diepkloof, Soweto said: “In 2019, I saw an advert on the Technician Apprenticeship programme. I applied and was accepted. Before participating in this programme, I didn’t have any skills and could not do anything worthwhile with my hands.”

Innocentia is currently unemployed, however with the expertise that she acquired from the programme, she can now fix and service fridges as well as install and service aircons. Even though she does not have her own tools as yet and has to borrow some from neighbours – she is now able to do some work within her community and get paid for it. The skills that she has obtained from the programme have had some positive ripple effects. “I am now able to support my family with the money that I make using my hands. I am also busy saving some of this money so that I can buy my own work tools in the near future,” she adds.

“The future is very bright for women who want to become artisans because these days, there are organisations that are willing to assist women to open their own businesses. With a bit of dedication, passion and determination,you will find that there’s endless opportunities out there. Young women just need to stand up and empower themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills to survive,” said Innocentia.

Samsung has a 10-year plan that is driven under its EEIP programme, which aims to address key developmental aspects linked to the National Development Plan (NDP) and overall transformation of the country’s economy. This also includes the need to empower women as well as increase female influence and participation by changing the male-dominated landscape of the electronics industry, ensuring that women contribute greatly to the country’s 4IR objectives.

Hlubi Shivanda, Director: Business Operations, Innovation and Corporate Affairs at Samsung South Africa said: “We are very proud of the incredible results that have been achieved from this programme so far. This Apprenticeship is helping to push our agenda of women empowerment, inclusivity and equality. As a company, we firmly believe that the future is female and that all businesses, and our industry as a whole, will benefit greatly from placing women in positions of influence and at the forefront of the 4IR agenda.”

Samsung proudly supports Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030.

Samsung celebrates the power and spirit of women from all walks of life, particularly those who have done the work to positively change their circumstances and make a significant impact in their respective fields. These are women who share Samsung’s philosophy of ‘Do What You Can’t’, which calls for never being complacent and achieving the impossible. Aimed at empowering consumers to realise their ambitions. Samsung stops at nothing in its quest to create innovative technologies to help people do more and enjoy life.

Soweto-born Innocentia Nkopane is a recent graduate of the 24-month SETA-accredited Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Technician Apprenticeship programme sponsored by Samsung and the Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training Centre (EASTC) in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).

The apprenticeship programme develops Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) skills in Artisans Training, and creates a portfolio of practical experience and skills in the fight against unemployment. Nkopane is passionate about technology and fixing things and when this opportunity came, she didn’t think twice, despite it being in a male-dominated industry. While on the course, the 37-year old’s husband passed away but she opted to continue studying. It proved to be difficult as she had to juggle it with looking after her children while also grieving her husband, but she was determined to finish what she had started. Besides the hard skills, some of the lessons Nkopane drew from the course are communication skills, being a team player, active listening and working under pressure.

“Before I got the opportunity. I couldn’t use any tools, now that am a qualified technician, it has opened doors for me as I can now be employed by major companies, build my career or even start my own business, create jobs and share my skills and knowledge,” said Nkopane. She uses her skills to help fix broken refrigerators in and around her community. She also plans to register a company and open a training centre to empower the youth.

 
Back in 2018, Chiropractor, Dr Mulalo Magodi, left her practice to join forces with her husband, Tshifhiwa Magodi, in their family business, Matongoni Group, which has four subsidiaries, Matongoni Recycling, Matongoni Plastics, Matongoni Polymers and Matongoni General Trading. The company, which boasts a workforce of 250 people at its headquarters in Muldersdrift (Johannesburg) and a plant in Polokwane, is one of the largest recyclers of post-consumer plastic waste in the country, specialising in the recycling of electronic waste and materials from shopping centres, industrial and agricultural activities and landfill sites. They also supply polymer throughout South Africa and many other African countries. They also produce kids’ plastic bikes, bowls, basins, chairs, which they sell to other businesses and retailers like Shoprite.

As director and a 51% shareholder in the company, Dr Magodi is responsible for the day-to-day running of the business including production, procurement, human resources, finance and training. Alongside her husband, Magodi is passionate about the environment and firmly believes, “we need to leave it in a better condition than we found it.” The mother of three boys plans to ensure the business is stable and in steady waters before returning to her chiropractor job. “This business is a legacy we would like to leave for our children and the environment that we were so fortunate to inhabit.”

Skateboarding is something usually associated with boys/men but for 17-year-old Boipelo Awuah, it’s something she picked up when she was only five years old. Curiosity was all it took for her to try it on the streets of her hometown, Kimberley. Despite reservations from her family because of the potential dangers associated with the sport, Boipelo was determined and skated on.

She stopped at age ten because of the skate park in her town closing down. She then tried her hand at martial arts to substitute her first love. Four years later in 2019, she realised something was missing in her life and that was when she went back to skateboarding. She immediately started competing and in December of the same year, she won the National Championships. In 2020 she was entering competitions as far afield as Italy to try and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. An injury to her pelvis while training may have killed her Olympic dream but it didn’t destroy her bigger dream and passion. Boipelo says bailing in skateboarding (falling off the board) has taught her so much about life including persistence, hard work, consistency and how to never give up.

Being female, young and ambitious, Boipelo is fully aware of the impact she’s having on other young aspirant athletes because she’s making waves in a predominantly male sport. Naysayers have tried to put brakes on this young athlete but have failed with flying colours as she plans on conquering the 2024 Paris Olympics, France. She’s currently in the qualifying phase and is pleased with her progress thus far and well on her way to doing more of what she can’t.

Samsung proudly supports Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030.

The programme commenced with three months of institutional training focused on theory and simulated practicals. Following the institutional training component, the learners were placed in companies for 8-months of workplace experience. Here, the serious business of air-conditioning, refrigeration, and ventilation was brought to life in real-world settings. The learners have now returned to EASTC to complete their summative theory and practical assessments. A Portfolio of Evidence and their workplace logbook, will be used for proof of competency to proceed to the next year of their qualification.

“We learnt a number of key lessons from Cohort 1” stated Sean Fenn, CEO of EASTC. “Firstly, not having a driver’s licence makes it difficult for students to be placed in companies for work placement. Secondly, medicals are a must for all learners before they enter any work environment as most companies will not always pay for this. Additionally, the impact of the Covid19 lockdown took a toll on the industry – we experienced a significant amount of difficulty in placing learners in companies for work placement. However, despite the hurdles, a few generous businesses with the right credentials in the industry absorbed all of our learners. This cohort experienced the invaluable growth that comes from applying their knowledge in the work place” said Fenn.

As it stands, EASTC has received the next 20 learners to commence their first year of the same apprenticeship.

SAMSUNG and the EASTC team are pleased at the progress that the learners are making in this critical trade area and look forward to providing great report on year two of cohort 1 and the workplace component of cohort 2.

“There are undeniable obstacles in the path of many learners in the country. However, as Samsung, we believe we have a duty to equip the youth to seize the opportunities that lie in the ICT sector. We are pleased to see the progress of the learners and to welcome a new cohort. We will continue to seek out the avenues that will empower them to be the leaders of tomorrow, “says Hlubi Shivanda, Director: Business Innovation Group and Corporate Affairs at Samsung South Africa.

“I am so excited that I was given this opportunity to be trained as an air-conditioning, refrigerator and ventilation technician with Samsung. I could not believe it when I got the call that I made it because I have been looking for such an opportunity for years. With the qualification I believe I will be able to get a better job, gain experience and who knows, may even start my own business. I already have big dreams. I would like to thank Samsung for giving me and other learners this opportunity to shine, “said Petunia Malinga.