Secopa helps people acquire business expertise
“These highly skilled people are denied the opportunity to be part of the company’s management because they lack formal education. This not only limits their career opportunities within a company but also their ability to start their own companies or effectively market their skills if they are retrenched,”
Seed Container Park (Secopa) is a manufacturing business model based in shipping containers. Secopa has offices at the Soweto Empowerment Zone (SEZ) in Zone 6.
Khumo Kgame the office manager at SEZ said the company was built on the fact that South Africa has a pool of highly skilled machine operators and manufactures who have acquired their skills through on the job training.
“These highly skilled people are denied the opportunity to be part of the company’s management because they lack formal education. This not only limits their career opportunities within a company but also their ability to start their own companies or effectively market their skills if they are retrenched,” he said.
Kgame said that Secopa was initiated with the aim to fill the void and enabling skilled operators to own their business whilst being mentored to acquire these skills.
“Secopa enable such operators to operate under a branded company while they learn skills such as marketing, cash flow management, job costing and people management until they are ready to operate independently.
“This approach encourages SMME manufacturing culture, economic empowerment and employment opportunities in South Africa,” he said.
Kgame said that they specialise in the creation of small, dedicated and profitable manufacturing businesses with a strong sense of participation and ownership.
“The first phase of the project has already created 31 jobs and nine businesses and has the potential of creating 90 jobs and about 11 businesses. Subsequent phases have a potential of creating over 400 jobs and more than 40 businesses. We have to date trained over 43 men, women, youth and the disabled,” he said.
