WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR CAN MAKE

Professionalism and confidence have been the biggest take-aways from the Motheo Academy for this bright young student.

Mfanafuthi Mnculwane (23) says he is completely different to the man he was just a year ago. He attributes that to his year-long learnership at the Motheo Academy in Fraser House, Johannesburg. “The learnership came into my life at a time when unemployment was messing with my sense of self. I had come to Johannesburg hoping to make a difference to my life and I felt like I was not succeeding at that. That didn’t make me feel good about myself,” he admits. His acceptance into the academy signalled a possible new light in his life. Mfanafuthi says that he enjoyed every aspect of the learnership because he could feel his world expanding. “Learning makes you feel better about yourself. For me, I started to see the world a bit differently.” That feeling of hope increased even further when he was offered a position to work on site at the Premier’s Office once the learnership was completed. “I felt like I was making real progress in my life. In just a year, my life has changed quite drastically and I could not be happier.” Mfanafuthi’s confidence is now clear for his family and friends to see and that makes him feel good. “It’s important to me that my family doesn’t think I came to Johannesburg to play games or to live a life with no direction. Things are starting to come together for me and that is because I have appreciated and made the most of the opportunity that Motheo gave me.” Mfanafuthi is determined to change the perceptions of construction in his sphere of influence. “People associate construction with being uneducated and having a low class job – that is not true. There is so much to be gained in this world, so much to learn and so much pride to reclaim. I feel happier than I have in my life and it is all thanks to this industry and to Motheo. I see myself as a professional and I want to continue on that path. I feel like I have found myself for the first time in my life and that is a gift I take very seriously.”