The Engen Community Computer School held an awards ceremony recently to celebrate its latest graduates, all unemployed South Durban residents whose prospects of finding employment have been positively enhanced after receiving valuable basic computer skills training. 

The Engen sponsored school has been transforming lives in South Durban for 13 years and has to date capped 2 434 graduates. 

Graduate Kerwin Burn from Wentworth is ecstatic after landing a job doing surveys and educating local youth about the benefits of vaccinating against Covid-19  

“I now understand all the computer basics like how to construct a proper email, create a presentation, use the Internet, and capture data, which are all essential skills needed in today’s world,” says Burn.  

His message to young job seekers is to never give up hope because “when one door closes another one opens, you need to just keep on trying and believing that the right job for is out there for you.”

The Engen Computer School offers members of the South Durban community free introductory-level computer skills training, which cover 8-unit standards of the National Certificate: Information Technology: End User Computing. 

The recent graduates, who enrolled on 1 March 2022 are all excited to put their newly acquired computer skills into practice, and were congratulated by Sykry Hassim, the General Manager of the Engen Refinery.  

“Our 67 latest graduates all deserve a big round of applause for their effort,” comments Hassim. 

“At Engen, we believe that continuous community upskilling will ensure resilience and readiness in today’s everchanging and demanding new digital world.”  

Course convener and training director, Sheryl Casalis comments: “We are proud of all our graduates who have had to endure through these challenging times and look forward to welcoming the next group of students.”  

Well-known in the local community and frequently boasting a waiting list, Engen Computer School applicants must be unemployed school-leavers who reside in South Durban and want to upskill themselves. 

While matric and age criteria are not prescribed, most students who attend the school are aged from 20 to 40.   

“The Engen Computer School has a proud history of giving graduates the knowledge and confidence to go out and seek jobs that would otherwise have been beyond their reach,” continues Hassim.  

“As a caring and responsible company, Engen is humbled to play a small role in positively changing lives of community members who reside in an area close to the Engen Refinery.”  

Engen is also a long-time supporter of education in Durban through its Engen Maths and Science Schools (EMSS), which seek to address South Africa's key skills shortages in the engineering and technical fields, thereby contributing to the economic growth and transformation of the country. 

In KwaZulu-Natal, the EMSS programme offers additional Maths, Science and English tuition every Saturday to under-privileged learners from grades 10-12 at Fairvale High School, Ganges High School, Howard College, and Mangosuthu University of Technology. 

Operating for over 30 years, the EMSSs measure of success is an annual matric class that consistently surpasses the national average of successful learners and learners who matriculate with a bachelor’s pass.