I have owned Bradshaw LeRoux Consulting for 25 years now and have had the privilege of experiencing many moments where the lived impact of what we do is realised. When I started the South African Bridge to Opportunity Academy (SABA) it was with the vision of preparing talent with a disability to succeed in an economy which seldom includes its needs.
Aside from building skills through the development of in-demand qualifications and experience, the aim of SABA is also to build change champions with a disability who are well equipped with the confidence and tools needed to not only compete in our economy but to change the landscape towards inclusion beneficial to all, and disability-confident business.
I received an e-mail today that really constitutes one of those heart-swelling moments. An e-mail from our SABA student from the 2023 CCNA Accreditation Cohort which qualified her with an international CCNA certification. We were so impressed by the commitment and passion demonstrated by this student that we asked her to join us for the 2024 cohort as a classroom assistant and tutor. Not only is she leading the cohort with confidence, but has once again embraced the full opportunity to succeed by working towards becoming an accredited instructor. She is also being groomed for the role of Information Security Analyst within a multi-national organisation who is supporting the SABA Cohort 2 programme.
With the permission of this student, I have included an extract from her e-mail below as a testimonial to the lived impact of doing skills development in a sustainable and personalised way:
“I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to be part of SABA as a classroom assistant and a student. So far I have gained invaluable knowledge and skills that have significantly contributed to my personal growth.
One of my proudest moments was obtaining the CCNA certification which has opened doors and provided me with a solid foundation in networking.
I am thankfully and truly honoured for the incredible opportunity, and deeply appreciative of the guidance ,mentorship and encouragement I have received from the BLC Team and our Instructor Allan – his dedication and passion has profoundly impacted my learning experience and given me an opportunity to advance my Information Technology career field to soon become a certified instructor.
I thank Bradshaw LeRoux for believing in me ,for always pushing me to reach my fullest potential. I am truly fortunate for this opportunity.
Warmest Regards, Nontobeko”
Feedback like this from the people whose personal journey we know and respect truly fuels our passion to change the way our economy is approaching disability inclusion and skills development. It makes no business sense for business to pursue compliance-focused skills development strategies that are not feeding the talent pipeline we actually need in our economy – We do a disservice to our economy, to people with disabilities, and to our employees and customers who will benefit directly from a disability confident ecosystem.
If you’d like to know more about applying the SABA approach to learning and development within your organisation or if you would like to explore ways to drive sustainable inclusion, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us for a conversation.