22.01.2012
In a bid to provide jobs, a furniture-making facility in Nyanga is set to expand, thanks to money pledged by the City of Cape Town, and residents in Nyanga have been urged to sign up for training
On Monday the City of Cape Town announced that it had approved R500 000 to boost the Furniture Technology Centre Trust (Furntech) in Nyanga for the training and “incubation” of furniture-related businesses.
The facility, which used to be used for maintaining city-owned vehicles, would offer training and support to about 100 individuals in the first year, providing courses in cabinet-making, wood machining and joinery, wood finishing, and upholstery.
Woodworking equipment at the center would also be made available to residents operating woodworking enterprises in the area in order to assist those who did not have the capital to invest in equipment.
ANC ward councilor responsible for the area, Elese Depoutch, said other projects run by entrepreneurs in Nyanga had shut down due to lack of funding and therefore he had requested support for the Furntech centre.
He said and example was a group of entrepreneurs who were making coffins failed to succeed due to a lack of capital to buy materials.
Concerned about high levels of unemployment in the community, he urged residents, including women, to register for skills development in March.
The training would make it possible to open up their own businesses and to possibly create employment for other people as well.
The facility would be a “test case” and if it proved successful he would call on the city to identify “pieces of land” in areas such as Philippi and Gugulethu for such training.
In its statement, the city’s mayco member for economic , environmental and spatial planning, Belinda Walker, said providing previously marginalized areas with an “infusion of new technology to either start businesses or to make businesses…is a key focus of the city’s policy of redress”.
She said that Furntech offered “tangible economic opportunities”, adding that they looked forward to the positive impact the project would have on the lives of those set to be trained. — Francis Hweshe
I think that this furniture factory must have provided several jobs to people. I like the idea of training provided to the individuals regarding cabinet-making, wood machining and joinery, wood finishing, and upholstery This will enhance your business as well as provide employment to many individuals.
I’m a cabinetmaker,woodwork teacher,technology teacher and built cupboards but would love to learn my learners some woodwork skills.