The Civil Engineering Contractor May 2019 | Page 7

POLICYMAKERS
businesses, where previously they might not have had
the social acumen. In addition, students are trained (and
expected) to pass on their skills to other unemployed
individuals when they are employed on a site. The success
of the academy stems from this characteristic: that its
graduates are used on a construction site to not only
perform their function, but in training local workers,
with the latter thereafter counting towards the 30% of
the value of a project, which has to be spent among local
communities. For instance, graduates may be appointed as
the subcontractor to a project, and they in turn employ
locals and train them, thereby also leaving skills behind
them when they move on to their next project.
They also receive subsequent mentorship post-
graduation to encourage them to find employment. This
takes the form of recommending them to contractors
that Saint-Gobain may have a relationship with, or help
with establishing their own businesses by recommending
them to potential clients who are key customers of Saint-
Gobain. In particular, each is given the full tool set to see
them on their way.
The academy often links its graduates to public projects
under way, involving what is often hundreds of thousands
www.civilsonline.co.za
One graduate of the class of 2016, Lehlohonolo Palane, has
established a successful business with fellow graduates, called
Leruo Ceiling.
CEC May 2019 | 5