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Noxole Bonakele is a 31 year old female who has been living in the township of Mbekweni, Paarl with her sister for the past 10 years. She is the middle child of 7 children and grew up in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape where her father was the only breadwinner in her household. In 1997 she matriculated from Bubele High School in Queenstown.

Noxolo has always has always been very excited about the hospitality sector and with her bubbly and energetic personality anyone would think she is perfect for the industry. Following this passion, she has worked at La Romantica and Dros restaurants in Paarl where she worked as a runner. Hereafter she worked at a guest house in Wellington where she did everything from cleaning and cooking to escorting guests to their rooms.

Noxolo loved interacting with the guests which further convinced her that the hospitality industry was ideally suited for her. In all of these positions, Noxolo was never formally exposed to the wines and to hospitality training and always wanted to learn more but says she never really received the opportunity. When she heard about the KWV Skills Program she definitely did not hesitate to apply.

Noxolo says: “To be honest, I knew absolutely nothing about wines when I started the course but I was so excited and interested to learn and I now feel like I know everything!” She graduated from the course in February 2010 and since her enriching learning experience, she has been encouraging all of her friends and family to apply for this course. Noxolo comes from a community where alcohol is abused, especially by the youth. She says: “It’s so sad to see when I come home from work that all the young people are standing outside drinking at the shebeen down my road. Alcohol abuse is very high amoung the youth in Mbekweni”.

Noxole also worked at a Community Development centre in Mbekweni where she was a volunteer and here she loved working with the people of her community. She hopes that the youth of her community can have successful futures and not be brought down by alcohol abuse and she thanks KWV for initiatives such as the Skills Program which uplift youth in communities such as Mbekweni. Noxolo currently works at Laborie restaurant on Sundays and in five years time she says: “I see myself driving my own car and having my own house”.

She says her next step to learn how to work on a computer so that she can start to get more involved with administration in the hospitality industry. She has big dreams for herself in the hospitality industry and is determined to further her knowledge in all other spheres of this industry.

About the KWV Khula Skills Program:

The KWV Skills program was launched in August 2009 and aims to address the skills shortage crisis by training unemployed individuals of Paarl and Worcester in the hospitality and tourism sector. The main objective is to make a positive, sustainable impact on the communities in which KWV operates through investing in improving the quality of life and prosperity of disadvantaged communities.

The aim of this initiative is to empower selected previously disadvantaged members of the local community with the intention of equipping them with the skills necessary to enter the hospitality industry – especially with the World Cup 2010 in mind.

The training course is designed around the basic understanding of food and wine in a hospitality establishment. The biggest advantage of this course is that it has been designed specifically with the aim of developing under privileged people.

The course goes beyond a tourist experience to give learners a new understanding coupled with skills in basic customer relations, up-selling, the responsible use of alcohol, tailoring through food and wine pairing and transforms the wine waiter’s ability to create an unrivalled experience for any guest. Part of the training includes a practical component where trainees are placed in various hospitality establishments to gain an understanding on how the industry works.

The first intake of 40 students from the Paarl community commenced in August 2009 and graduated in October 2009. The graduation ceremony was attended by Mr Alan Wnde, MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Finance.

The second group of 26 students from the Paarl community commenced in November 2009 and they will be graduating in February 2010. The intake for Worcester of 40 students commences in March 2010 and these students will graduate in May 2010.

For further information please contact Zanele Xaba on 021 807 3353 or xaba@kwv.co.za

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