WHITE RIVER – In a bid to contribute to the fight against unemployment, the Furniture Technology Centre Trust (Furntech), in conjunction with Sonae Novobord, hosted a graduation ceremony last week.The event was held to celebrate the graduation of 12 unemployed individuals who had completed a skills programme(s) in wood machining cabinet making Level 2 and basic business skills.

Furntech White River is a manufacturing business incubator and skills development centre that focuses on the furniture and wood product sector in the province.

Sonae Novobord, through its CSI programme, funded the pilot development project and the 12 individuals were selected to undergo training at Furntech.

The training enabled them to attain some of the skills necessary for furniture manufacturing and entrepreneurship and will give them the ability to manufacture a comprehensive range of furniture/wood products which can be sold in their prospective businesses.

Upon completion of training, the participants have the opportunity to apply to Furntech’s Business Technology Incubation (BTI) Programme, the objective of which is to ensure that emerging and existing small businesses in the woodworking and furniture industries overcome the challenges they are facing while laying the foundation for survival and growth.

Sonae Novobord representative, Mr Steve Dennis encouraged the graduates to have an innovative mind and start something that would assist other unemployed youth.

“Don’t sit at home and wait for work, do something that will develop your communities and whatever business you start, do it with integrity and use the skills to uplift others,” he told them.