The value of practical training

Vukani and the management team personally have always been advocates for practical training as the best school of learning. We offer a number of learnerships and internships in jewellery industry that we formally are part of, but also have interns in the non-related core business activities including marketing, finance and administration.

 

I have been trained both at Technikon (Pretoria, now known as TUT) and University (of North West aka Pukke), and has always firmly believed that although you might get a job because of your Degree, you can do the job because of your Diploma and practical Technikon experience.

 

I think it would be a great shame if we allow the incorporation of Technikon’s into Universities to change the nature and intent of the Universities of Technology – which was as I understood it, to provide a work-place ready student, with practical experience, who can walk in and WORK!!! And this has worked – I am a living example of the value of practical training!

 

I encourage all business owners to employ interns and give them an opportunity. It is a great experience to see them grow and go, and it always grow your business from a number of perspectives.

 

I also add my voice to the plight – do not take away practical training aspects of the UT’s – it has a valuable role to play in a country where good skills are scares.

 

 

Great people working towards a great future

I have been working on an article for the IABC Communication World Magazine about the future of development communication, and the value of the discipline. I have been inspired by the great colleagues that work with me in this industry. As Madiba says it so eloquently: A good heart and a good head is a formidable combination. Keep up the good work!

 

Celebrating a Decade of Development

From a single idea in 1998 to a national network of grass-roots development projects across the country in 2009, Vukani-Ubuntu represents a victory of cooperative spirit that welled up from the desire to improve life for previously disadvantaged communities. These communities are people who were deprived of opportunities most others would take for granted - the ability to sustain themselves. Vukani-Ubuntu started teaching them jewellery skills, within the framework of the jewellery industry.

This eventually led to formulating the now well-implemented Integrated Development Model, an ongoing blueprint for putting formerly marginalised individuals on safe footing, not only as skilled artisans, but also as entrepreneurs in their own right. Through the dedication to this noble mission Vukani-Ubuntu became the single largest trainer of emerging black jewellers in SA.

Vukani-Ubuntu was the first community development organisation of its kind in the country, generating interest and injecting wind of positive change in the jewellery sector in SA. It has established 11 community development projects in one decade, fundraised more than R 30-million from over 30 local and international donors. During the 10 year period Vukani-Ubuntu also trained over 400 students!

In terms of marketing, Vukani’s efforts created several brands and marketing concepts of jewellery, designed and co-produced with our various projects and other relevant partners for the local and export markets. Ancient Precious Metals™, capitalizing on “World’s Oldest Gold”, mined from Barberton and transformed into jewellery by the Umjinji Project, and the Kwaito Jewellery Range™ targeting SA’s vibrant youth following the Kwaito music trend are examples of V-U marketing prowess.

Most notably, Vukani-Ubuntu developed and established FairMade Jewellery SA™, a concept adapted for SA jewellery industry from the global Fair Trade brand and based on the same humanitarian and environmental principles.

More recently Vukani-Ubuntu purchased shares in Metal Concentrators, one of the leading metal refiners in the country in the most significant and true broad based empowerment deals in the jewellery industry. This mutually beneficial venture will have further positive impact on the sustainability of development projects in South Africa by providing even better access to mentorship and technical support, making Metal Concentrators fully compliant with the SA Mining Charter in the process.

2009 saw the launch of another two ambitious development projects under the leadership of Vukani-Ubuntu. The Ekurhuleni Jewellery Project and Limpopo Jewellery Cluster connect several businesses and development organizations, combining training programmes with jewellery production on a large scale for local and overseas clients. They also employ qualified students from other Community Development Projects, providing fertile ground to start and grow their own businesses – enterprise development.

The success started already with the name: "Humanity, wake up (Vukani) and help each other to help our communities (Ubuntu)." It was a complete mission statement in two words, a call to move, from helplessness and poverty to      self-reliance and prosperity. From     Dust to Gold. It conveys hope and inspires vision. It carries intent and defines the goal. Genuine concern about the cause, selfless dedication, unshakable belief that it can be done and the right insight has all been present too.

The more practical attributes of the success can't be overlooked: Flamboyant yet responsible management, thinking big but seeing details, ability to develop human resources. Insistence on quality, efficiency throughout. Energy and synergy. Vukani-Ubuntu has always been more than sum of its parts.

Perhaps these are some of the characteristics that captured attention and helped open the flood-gates of generosity from so many distinguished funders, sponsors and donors including the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, European Union, givers local and international. The list is too numerous to complete here. Their understanding of Vukani-Ubuntu's aim has been crucial to moving forward.

Vukani-Ubuntu? Yes, they can. They know how and why. And their timing is always right.

 

Demos Takoulas

CEO, Vukani-Ubuntu

 

 

 

 

 

 

The land of opportunity

We indeed live in the land of opportunity. Just out of the MQA’s 9^th Annual Consultation Conference (Friday, 30 October 2009), and I must congratulate the MQA and their stakeholders on the excellent job they are doing. Today I realized once again that if you apply your mind, your passion and your talents, you can and will have a brilliant future in our country. The industry is in need of skills, but as the motivating and inspiring Musa Zulu said – it can only happen if we put our passion and our minds to it! We make the impossible “I’m possible”. What an inspiring event, and what a great group of individuals to develop an industry with.

New direction for Vukani

When a company reach a significant milestone like a 10-year birthday celebration, it is time to reflect on where we have been, what we have achieved, what we do really well, and what we should stop doing, and focus on in the future. The Vukani team has just been through this process of evaluation, and has decided on the way forward to continue contributing to the jewellery industry of South Africa in the most meaningful manner.

In the past decade Vukani has spent most of its time, money raised and other resources setting up jewellery training projects and managing them to a point of stability, and then handing them over to community boards to manage. Vukani has also generated income by being a training provider (and is accredited by MQA, Umalusi and registered at the Department of Education), lobbying and firming relationships in the jewellery industry, delivering research and development and consulting services.

In July 2009, Vukani reached significant milestones, delivering two fully working and operational projects: the Limpopo Jewellery Cluster hosting the SEDA Limpopo Jewellery Incubator (R13-million) and the Ekurhuleni Jewellery Project (R7-million) to respective funders involved. Since then, management has spent time doing research and in discussion with industry role-players, including the MQA and Jewellery Council.  Management have made a decision to position Vukani in the training coordination and service provider sphere for the next 3 – 5 years, based on the need in the industry for simplified and effective training opportunities. The skills shortage in the industry, aligned with the national skills priorities and goals, also drives this strategy.

Vukani will continue to assist the two recent projects with (as per current SLA and contracts with funders) the services listed below, as the projects become more self-reliant in terms of operational implementation. Vukani will:

·         oversee financial and other management,

·         report to funders

·         support with stakeholder relationship, and

·         support with marketing and fundraising

The core focus of Vukani as an organization would be to provide training support and coordination to the Jewellery Industry.

These services will include:

1)     Registering jewelers with SARS to allocate their Skills Development Levy to the MQA in order to claim these levies back.

2)     Register and manage all learnership applications, skills programme applications, etc. that jewelers make to the MQA.

3)     Assisting jewelers with Workplace Skills Plans, all administration and the Annual Training Report, in order to claim back mandatory grants.

4)     Handle sourcing and delivering of training, all coordination (venue, time, date and content) according to the Workplace Skills Plan, and the need of the individual jewelers. All training administration and coordination will be done for you as a jeweller, and will meet all the accreditation and statutory requirements.

5)     Presenting an annual calendar filled with short skills training programmes nationally in major city centres.

6)     All other training related administration and services.

With 10 years of experience in providing the industry with high-quality trained jewelers, Vukani is well positioned to extend our scope to the rest of the industry, providing up-skilling and training opportunities to the jewellery industry nationally. It is with great anticipation that we launch the new services, and you can obtain more information from Penny Moemi at penny@vukani.org, or 012 326 8534.

Vukani-Ubuntu: A Bloginning...

As the largest mineral-beneficiation organisation in the jewellery sector in SA, Vukani-Ubuntu Community Development Projects has grown from a single idea back in 1998, to a national network of grass-roots development projects across the country.

This seed, planted by a friend to “help a little with an outreach project”, has today spawned a unique world-model: Integrated Sustainable Development following the “Social Venture Capital” model (or “Social Capitalism” as the Americans call it).

Vukani founding father, Demos Takoulas, contributed his extensive knowledge of business management, marketing, academia, human relations and a strong sense of community development, in establishing one of the most successful NGO’s in SA. From his cosy kitchen in Pretoria, Takoulas formed the beginnings of this new development model – its central focus being to empower marginalised people in a sustainable manner, initially focussing on the community of Atteridgeville (a township on the outskirts of Pretoria).

The need for Black Jewellers to enter the jewellery industry was apparent but due to the nature of this complex sector, this was going to prove difficult. In 1999 the first-ever jewellery development project was born in A’ville – the Atteridgeville Jewellery Project (AJP). This Project offered an accredited 3-year National Diploma in Jewellery Manufacture & Design entirely for free. With AngloGold Ashanti’s initial funding of R 240 000, a place in history was secured for 12 Historically Disadvantaged Individuals.


He has - with a dedicated Vukani team - in the past 9 years set up 9 community-development projects (6 industry- related training and manufacturing projects) in 4 provinces - a notable achievement which has allowed easier access to disadvantaged people into the formal jewellery sector. In this short period, Vukani has generated gainful employment for over 300 hdi's and fundraised in excess of R30-million from over 30 local & international donors (1999 – 2008). Through his dedication and generous contributions - not only of his time, but also through donating initial infrastructure for the first three years - his leadership shaped Vukani-Ubuntu and evolved the jewellery development sector into the success it enjoys today. Vukani is the single largest trainer of emerging black jewellers in the industry, currently allowing access to the formal sector to over 150 hdi’s annually.