BBF Safety donates footwear to youth traing centre in PE

A generous donation of footwear was recently made by BBF Safety Group to the students at Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre in Port Elizabeth.

The female students were given products from the Sisi Safety Footwear range, while the men were provided with Bova products. Sisi and Bova are two of the eight brands within the BBF Safety Group stable.

The Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre, an extension programme of the EP Child and Youth Care Centre, offers skills training to vulnerable, underprivileged and displaced youth between the ages of 18 and 25.

The centre has been operating for 12 years, and has trained 1 185 students across its vocational training programmes, 82 percent of whom have since gained formal employment. The centre is solely reliant on the support of corporate and private donors.

Vanessa Ronald, BBF senior brand manager, says: “It brings us great pleasure to support the Ray Mhlaba Skills Centre in continuing its incredible work.

“BBF Safety Group is committed to having a positive impact on the communities in which we operate and contributing to the meaningful and impactful efforts of initiatives such as this. We wish all the students many successful steps in their new footwear as they complete their studies and enter into the professional world.”

A variety of SETA-accredited and entrepreneurial training programmes are offered to students, including hospitality studies, bakery, woodwork and upholstery, hairdressing, early childhood development, needlework and crafts and HIV/AIDS and palliative care. Additionally, all students are enrolled in a personal development programme.

Caroline Ferreira, project director at the Ray Mhlaba Skills Centre, notes: “This is a huge cost saver, as the shoes form a vital part of the required safety-standards uniform for our Hospitality Training Programme students completing their NQF Level 4 in Professional Cookery qualification.”

“We thank the BBF Safety Group for making it possible for our students to have a complete professional workplace uniform, which will not only allow them to train professionally but prepare them for formal employment within the hospitality industry,” she concludes.

For more information on Sisi and Bova safety footwear range, visit www.bbfsafety.com