Hello there bloggers. My appologies for being so quiet over the weekend, I have been bitten by the flu bug and am feeling shit! Having visited the doctor today and been given a host of medication to take. I am now attempting to function in a fog, being in a semi stoned stated from a variety of tablets that I have been told I "must" take in order to feel like a human being again! Oh well!

So here is another opportunity being presented to anyone who cares to take it up - perhaps all we will hear is the steady stream of "No-one helps us!"

Opportunity is something that needs to be recognised and then acted upon. It is very sad to see that more often than not, people do not recognise the opportunity (or will not) and then they insist on crying "Woe is me!"

My response is this, get up off your arses and do something instead of waiting for others to do it for you.

Have a great day!

Young accountants sharpen skills in quest for success
02 May 2007 at 11h00

Unemployed accounting graduates will again be given a helping hand to attain their dream of becoming professional accountants or CAs through the Guarantee Trust work-readiness programme, which is being run in Cape Town for the third consecutive year. The programme aims at producing more professional accountants by getting graduates from previously disadvantaged back- grounds on to learnerships at accounting practices, and giving them the soft skills to be more efficient and effective staff members from their first day at work, says Lindsay Langenhoven, the marketing and PR manager for the organisation's Cape Town division.

Fully sponsored by Fasset (the Seta for finance, accounting, management consulting and other financial services), the four-and-a-half month programme is run twice yearly in the Cape and 30 students are accepted on each course. Former Guarantee Trust students speak highly of the work-readiness programme, which is run throughout the country. Among them is Radichaba Malapane, a 25-year-old student, originally from the Limpopo province. He is now working on his articles at chartered accounting company Sprigg Abbott Incorporated, and has successfully passed his CTA and written the CA Board 1 exam. He says: "Guarantee Trust has provided the exposure I needed and given me a second chance in life." Masibolekwe Ndima, 26, from Engcobo in the Eastern Cape, is completing his articles at Bruk Munkes & Co, another chartered accounting company. He says Guarantee Trust helped him develop his analytical skills and taught him how to get clarity and understanding on any issue.

Langenhoven adds: "The skills taught on the programme not only help students in their career, but also to overcome problems in life." Xolile Mgijima is now in his second-year articles at a medium-sized CA company called PKF Incorporated. The 25-year-old, originally from a small Eastern Cape town, is loving every challenge his new employers throw his way. "If it wasn't for Guarantee Trust I wouldn't be where I am today: they gave me the motivation." In Cape Town, Guarantee Trust has a learnership (articles) placement rate of 83%, according to Langenhoven. "We have a network of accounting firms who want our graduates. At the end of our training programme they are placed in various accounting or auditing positions, initially completing a one-month review period with an accounting practice, followed by permanent employment at that firm. "To apply for the programme, students must have a financial accounting NQF level 3 qualification, but need not have any work experience, she says. Students on the programme will receive a monthly stipend from Fasset.

The next programme in Cape Town will begin on July 7. The closing date for applications is June 30. Contact Julia Mashologu on 021 762 9345, 021 762 9245 or 082 536 7459.