GAUTRAIN LEARNERSHIP BRINGS HOPE AND A BETTER FUTURE FOR BASAMBILU

Having completed a Gautrain learnership, a young mother from a small Limpopo village has new hope for the future. But she will never forget the days when she struggled to make ends meet while picking oranges and

naartjies on a farm, working as a shop assistant, a domestic worker, a cleaner and a switch board operator. The hours were long. The money was barely enough to feed her kids.

“After my matriculation in 1994 I so wished to further my studies, but it was impossible because my parents had no money,” says Basambilu Mathebula. The young mother persisted and her luck started changing

when she was accepted for a Gautrain learnership in Business Administration Services. “That was one of my happiest days in my life,” says Basambilu.

“When the learnership started I was not sure of what was expected of me.  What I was sure of was that whatever challenge I would go through or duties I was going to be assigned to, I will make sure that I perform to

the best of my abilities,” says Basambilu.

For her learnership, Basambilu completed her practical training at the offices of Gautrain partner Bombardier Transportation South Africa. Another 24 learners were also placed at various Gautrain partner companies.

With the help of a mentor, Basambilu successfully graduated in September 2008. Her work performance was impressive and Bombardier Transportation offered Basambilu a permanent position as a clerk in their Socio

Economic Development (SED) Department. “It made me feel that I have not been too off the mark by thinking that perseverance will pay someday,” says Basambilu who will soon start the next level learnership in

Business Administration Services, NQF3.

“At the moment my aim is to educate myself as much as I possibly can.  My next step is to enrol in a qualification in auditing as I am beginning to love the job.  Our duty as the department is to report on Bombardier’s

SED achievements, and as a result we have to verify the correctness of the figures that we receive from our subcontractors.  This is where I developed my love for Auditing.”