The Civil Engineering Contractor May 2019 | Page 8

POLICYMAKERS
The Saint-Gobain YouthBuild Academy has equal male and female representation.
of square metres of ceilings and drywalls on projects such
as affordable housing developments, clinics, libraries, and
schools, seeing as Saint-Gobain has intimate knowledge of
the industry and where projects are occurring. Graduates
get such work because they have NQF-accredited certificates
together with practical training.
Saint-Gobain marketing and communications manager,
Michelle Cerruti, says the academy helps to “incubate” the
graduates to ensure they get into such programmes, with
assistance as basic as ensuring they arrive on site. The entire
programme is predicated on giving students “living skills”,
she says. Mentoring is provided to ensure, for instance, they
accept appropriate contracts not “over their heads”.
One graduate of the class of 2016, Lehlohonolo Palane,
described how he had gone on to establish his own business
with some fellow graduates, and trained additional staff. He
doesn’t want for work, he claims.
“This is exactly what we aim to do in the academy,”
says Lasserre. The academy recruits students directly from
communities around its training centre, putting them
through a rigorous selection process. The academy does not
have to advertise — at the end of each matriculation, Saint-
Gobain typically finds as many as 350 CVs left at its various
offices. Successful applicants are also paid a monthly stipend
of R2 000 to ensure they have nutrition and accommodation
— factors which may otherwise hinder learners’ ability to
study. The average 350 applicants compete for 50 positions
at a time.
6 | CEC May 2019
Jean-Claude Lasserre, Saint-Gobain CEO for sub-Saharan Africa.
A few years ago, the ratio of students was 10:90 favouring
men — today, it is 50:50, as contractors are getting bolder
about accommodating ladies on site. Cerruti notes that
potential employers tend to favour women for their greater
“attention to detail”.
YouthBuild was started on the streets of Harlem, New York,
in 1979. Oupa Tshabalala, national programme manager for
YouthBuild, says: “The idea is to create community assets
where graduates are able to make a positive contribution to the
communities in which they live. They have to see themselves as
agents of change in their own communities.” nn
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