Up to 250 students will be employed at ultra-luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises in June, thanks to Anglo American Zimele’s sectorial approach to youth development.
The Anglo American Zimele Hospitality and Tourism Programme partnered with Summit (a corporate training solutions company) and Silversea Cruises to provide employment opportunities for youth trained in the programme.
The collaboration will see Silversea Cruises employing between 180 and 250 youth from Anglo American’s host communities in various hospitality roles on its cruise ships.
The programme was established to upskill host communities where Anglo American has mining operations in South Africa in careers that are in high demand.
The recruits have all completed training with Summit in one of the following accredited hospitality qualifications: assistant chef, housekeeping, and food and beverage management.
The students also received a travel allowance to attend contact sessions, mobile gadgets to undertake training sessions virtually, and work-integrated learning for them to get practical experience.
Larisha Naidoo, Head of Anglo American Zimele said: “This is a great milestone for the programme and for youth development in our host communities. Youth unemployment remains one of the major challenges that South Africa is facing and this partnership is one of the ways in which we are making a contribution towards reducing unemployment and poverty in the areas where we operate through impactful skilling.”
In total, 1 316 beneficiaries have completed training as assistant chefs, table attendants and assistant housekeepers, which is offered as part of the Hospitality and Tourism Programme rolled out at various host community sites for Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore in 2022.
A total of 789 learners from this programme have already been placed in employment and Zimele is targeting the recruitment and training of a further 2 970 youths in the next four years.
