The Hope Factory poised to spread its wings at Markex
Johannesburg, Friday, June 1, 2007 – The Hope Factory, ranked as one of South Africa's top seven training service providers by the Department of Labour, will feature its products at Markex, the nation's largest corporate gift exhibition.
The Hope Factory Wealth creation project is the prime enterprise development initiative of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), reflecting the Institute's unswerving commitment to job creation and training.
Founded in 2001, the Hope Factory provides training in:
- Technical Skills (sewing, patternmaking, beadwork and other crafts);
- Business Skills (entrepreneurship and small business); and
- Life Skills (time management, CV writing and HIV/AIDS).
Once learners have graduated, they can choose either to start their own businesses, seek formal sector employment, study further or join The Hope Factory job creation project. Graduates manufacture corporate gifts and conference materials, which are sold, to companies throughout South Africa.
The Hope Factory has helped provide opportunities for the unemployed to become financially productive and to gain practical work experience. At the end of 2006, 352 people had benefited from The Hope Factory's job and wealth creation efforts.
The 15 week course offered by the Hope Factory has transformed many lives. Throughout the course, mentorship, advice and support as well as networking opportunities for further training or employment are provided. After the course, trainees can choose to join The Hope Factory's job creation programme, which gives them the chance to gain practical experience while earning an income.
Siphokazi Dumezweni, a trainee in the programme, says of her experience: “I did not know how to sew on the machine, but now I can do anything from cushion covers to hats – enough to start my own business.”
Currently, The Hope Factory employs between 50 and 80 graduates on a contract basis, and trains 72 learners annually who are funded by the Department of Labour in the Eastern Cape
Janine runs a business on Greenmarket Square in Cape Town, where she sells beaded cutlery that she learned to make at The Hope Factory. Her success has been such that she is employing Hope Factory's graduates who were her classmates.
In 2006, five graduates from The Hope Factory started their own business called Mzansi cc, based in a local township called New Brighton. It also has a display, EzamaXhosa Craft Shop, at Port Elizabeth's Boardwalk shopping centre. They started off in the garage of one of their parents, and today are barely able to keep up with orders for the clothes and jewellery they manufacture using their own prints and designs.
Elizabeth Zambonini, SAICA's CSI project director, believes that the hope and good work that has been generated will spread to more and more learners and give them the opportunity for generating wealth through employment or by starting their own enterprises. “The Hope Factory encourages people to invest in themselves and to take ownership of their future.”
Hope Factory trainee Helouise Baartzes says: “At the Hope Factory I gained a lot of self-esteem. I was shy at first. I had a few ideas; now I have even more.”
Zambonini says that the Hope Factory opted to take a stand at Markex because it views the exhibition as the ideal platform to showcase its highly distinctive products.
“Visitors to Markex will readily appreciate the high quality and innovative thinking behind these products, which, I suggest, will prompt an awareness of the project's sustainability and the opportunities it offers to the unemployed.
“The Hope Factory's exposure to the broader market place by way of Markex, which attracted nearly 11 000 visitors last year, will assist in its expansion and, in consequence, its ability to nurture the aspirations of unemployed prospective entrepreneurs.”
Markex will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, between 5 and 7 June. The Hope Factory will be featured in Hall 2, Stand number A3.
