Community members from poor backgrounds who attended the P&L Hardware Further Education and Training College received their hard-earned certificates during a ceremony held at the Mountain Inn Hotel last Tuesday.
The programme was done in partnership with the Wholesale and Retail SETA (W&R SETA). The students, who are also employees of P&L Hardware, received certificates in Generic Management NQF Level 2 to 5.
The chief executive officer of P&L Hardware, Mr André Prinsloo, urged all students to make the best of themselves and share the knowledge they had acquired with others. "Our aim is to equip the community with the much-needed knowledge and skills. We are happy that we are now making a visible contribution towards the eradication of illiteracy in our communities," he said.
He added that the students who had received their certificates had been recruited from the community and offered employment at P&L Hardware while completing the learnership. "I thank the students for having completed the programme and not giving up. This shows how committed and dedicated you are," he told them.
Prinsloo urged the students to continue with the right attitude, so that they could succeed in life. "If you do not have the right attitude, hard work will be a burden to you. All good things you have achieved are because of your attitude," he added. He encouraged them to look after themselves in order to escape the jaws of "the dreaded Aids monster".
Mr Sipho Shoba, regional manager of the W&R SETA, said that his institution appreciated what P&L Hardware was doing and that they would continue funding the programme. "P&L Hardware has shown commitment in skills development. I believe that the students who graduated will go far in life. I am also happy that no one has dropped out of the programme," he said.
Ms Khodani Mudau said that she benefited a lot from being a P&L Hardware student. According to her, they were sitting at home without jobs or anything to keep themselves busy and P&L Hardware had come to their rescue. "It has brought light into our lives. We do not know what would have happened in our lives without P&L Hardware."