Lerato Khambule’s dream to become the number one hairstylist in South Africa is no longer far-fetched. The passionate hairstylist is one of more than 100 lucky youngsters who were recently awarded an opportunity by World Vision to acquire skills that will open employment opportunities for them and enable them to be entrepreneurs.

For the past few weeks Lerato has been attending hairdressing lessons at a Johannesburg-based Soft ‘n Free Institute. “I already started a salon before attending the course, but was not making good profit and could not understand why. But within a short period as a professional hairdresser, I have already doubled my profit,” he said.
According to Lerato, the reasons behind his success are not only the thorough understanding of hair and products, but the professionalism as he delivers his service. “I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to learn about client satisfaction and business management skills; my clients can tell you the difference this training has made in the life of my business,” he says.

Lerato was among the youngsters from Orlando East, Soweto, who graduated at a ceremony held at World Vision’s offices in Randburg, Johannesburg. The graduates included 12 Hairdressers from Soft ‘n Free institute, 12 Advanced Nail And Eyelashes Specialists and 12 Cosmetologists from Beauty Palace, 40 Advanced Computer Technicians from Close the Gap, 10 End user Computer Technicians from Creative Minds, and 40 Call Centre agents trained by Cornerstone.

One of the Beauty Cosmetology students, Mpumie, 24, is climbing the beauty industry ladder faster than expected. “Even before I could finish my course, I was called to be one of the make-up artists at the Soweto fashion week. Since then I have been getting jobs regularly, which is a very good start for me,” she says.