Vhukoni Incentive Programme

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Welcome to Vhukoni! [Home Page]

Investing in our youth for a sustainable future
The Vhukoni Incentive Programme is a bursary and support services initiative funded by TOSACO , a
broad-based black economic empowerment consortium, and Calulo Investments, a proudly African
investment house. It is administered by the Umlambo Foundation, an education management
organisation established by former Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo- Ngcuka.

Vhukoni’s mission is to overcome poverty and disempowerment by providing access to a tertiary

education for qualifying candidates from impoverished or historically disadvantaged communities.

About Vhukoni [Page Two]

The Vhukoni Incentive Programme is a bursary and support services initiative funded by TOSACO and
Calulo Investments, and administered by the Umlambo Foundation. It provides access to tertiary
education for students from impoverished or historically disadvantaged communities who wish to
study towards a career in the petroleum and allied services industry.

This is a strategic industry that:

 contributes 2% of South Africa’s gross domestic product;
 supplies approximately 18% of South Africa’s primary energy;
 manufactures more than 90% of South Africa’s petroleum products;
 supports the direct or indirect employment of over 100 000 people;
 sells approximately 24.9 billion litres of petroleum products annually;
 invests R30 billion in refinery technology for the production of unleaded petrol and low
sulphur diesel;
 spent more than R115 million on corporate social investment initiatives in 2009 alone; and
 collects over R35billion in fuel taxes on petrol, diesel and paraffin, which is an important
source of revenue for the government.

This means there are many different career opportunities in the petroleum and allied services
industry, and the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) has identified
128 occupations across 24 business areas where scarce skills are needed.

There is, in particular, a significant shortage of process plant operators in the industry, so technical
students are now able to qualify specifically in this area at National Vocational Certificate Levels 2, 3
and 4. Suitably-qualified civil, mechanical, electrical, production, maintenance and logistics
engineers are also needed, as are project planners, project managers, workshop managers,
equipment managers, sales consultants and specialist marketing managers.

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This is where The Vhukoni Incentive Programme aims to pave the way for candidates from identified
communities.

Vhukoni was established by TOSACO as a key corporate social investment programme, and was re-
launched in partnership with Calulo Investments and the Umlambo Foundation in 2011. Calulo has
interests in a range of business entities in the petroleum, chemicals and related services industries,
so there are many synergies between the funders. Through the Calulo Foundation, Calulo
Investments focuses on poverty alleviation through the ‘four pillars of support’, namely education,
health, youth and the family.

Objective
The objective of the Vhukoni Incentive Programme is to provide meaningful socio-economic
empowerment through education to tertiary candidates from impoverished or historically
disadvantaged communities.

Vhukoni aims to:

 Contribute to the national skills development effort and to sustainable economic growth;
 Create an awareness of opportunities within the petroleum industry;
 Develop young people with the talent and drive to enter into the industry; and
 Produce graduates who will become the social and economic leaders of tomorrow.

The Vhukoni Partnership

TOSACO and Calulo Investments have entered into a partnership with the Umlambo Foundation to
manage and administer the Vhukoni Incentive Programme. Umlambo is an education management
organisation established by the former Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. The foundation
leverages the goodwill of individuals, companies and institutions to invest in the development of
quality education in public schools, and has a national footprint.

With an in-depth knowledge of national objectives and the educational landscape, Umlambo has a
proven track record in the transformation of schools in rural areas and disadvantaged communities.
The foundation’s aim is to make a positive contribution to providing quality education for all of
South Africa’s children, and to overcome poverty and disempowerment through education.

Why Vhukoni? [Page Three]

South Africa is a country with many challenges, including an unequal geographic distribution of the
population, a serious skills deficit, a large ‘wage gap’, a very high level of unemployment (especially
amongst young people), extreme poverty and an HIV/Aids crisis.

Against this backdrop, education too is in crisis:

 An Umlambo Foundation study entitled Life beyond Grade 12 concluded that less than 20%
of learners who complete Grade 12 and obtain a university entrance certificate are able to
enrol at a university.

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  Only 2.7% of matriculants pass maths and science on the higher grade, and achieve grades
that are high enough to qualify them for university entrance.
 Of the students who register at universities, most of those from impoverished and
historically disadvantaged communities drop out before they are able to complete their
undergraduate degrees.
 Orientation programmes provided by universities during the registration period fail to
address the socio-economic and psychological pressures on students from these
backgrounds.
 Only about 40% of young people obtain a qualification at the FET (Further Education and
Training) level, which means that about 60% obtain no further qualification after Grade 12.

These challenges demand innovative and committed responses from all sectors of society. It is vital
to have a way of identifying promising students, and of providing them with bursaries to further
their studies at tertiary level. This is the objective of the Vhukoni Incentive Programme, and the
reason for its existence.

What Vhukoni offers

The Vhukoni Incentive Programme offers high school graduates from impoverished and historically
disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to study at any accredited tertiary education institution in
South Africa, including any university, university of technology or college. The beneficiaries of this
programme are selected based on academic merit and financial need.

The programme provides full financial aid for the period of study, psycho-social support, experiential
learning through a mentorship programme, and access to a 12-month learnership or internship at
one of the programme’s participating partners once recipients have completed their studies.

Who qualifies?
Vhukoni recognises and aims to recruit candidates with a stellar academic background, but focuses
mainly on providing a tertiary education platform for students from impoverished or historically
disadvantaged backgrounds.

The programme is tailored to provide holistic support to bursary recipients in order to give them the
best possible chance of success. This not only benefits the individuals, but ensures that the
programme produces qualified professionals with the necessary skills and leadership abilities to take
up a meaningful place in society and contribute to the country’s economy.

Bursary Scheme [Page Four]

The Vhukoni Incentive Programme offers a comprehensive bursary scheme that:
 Recognises academic achievers from impoverished and historically disadvantaged
backgrounds, and awards funding to qualifying candidates to enable them to study at any
accredited tertiary education institution in South Africa;
 Provides psycho-social support to recipients to ensure they obtain maximum benefit from
the programme;

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  Provides opportunities for recipients to undertake experiential learning within partner
companies; and
 Is committed to producing qualified professionals with the necessary skills, competencies
and leadership abilities to make a vital contribution to the South African economy.

The Vhukoni Difference

The Vhukoni Incentive Programme is packaged to provide both academic funding and a range of
value-added support services. These are designed to ensure that recipients receive not only the best
academic training, but also that they have the opportunity to develop the business and social skills
they need to be fulfilled and successful members of society.

Academic Funding
The programme offer the following funding for academic studies:
 Tuition at any university of the candidate’s choice;
 All prescribed textbooks;
 A laptop and a 3G card;
 IT support;
 Accommodation in a university residence, including meals;
 A monthly allowance for incidentals; and
 Home travel twice a year.

Value-Added Support Services

The programme also offers all qualifying candidates the following support:
 Personal mentorship by a member of middle management at one of the programme’s
participating companies;
 Industry exposure through on-site experiential learning;
 On-line and administrative support;
 Psychosocial support;
 Twice annual de-briefing meetings to assist with monitoring and evaluation, peer support,
and building a sense of collective community ; and
 Access to a 12-month learnership or internship opportunity at one of participating
companies

Support Services [Page Five]

The funders and administrators of the Vhukoni Incentive Programme are aware of the fact that
success at tertiary level depends on more than just funding. With this in mind, Vhukoni has an
holistic approach to personal development, which is based not only on providing financial aid for
academic studies, but also on offering psycho-social support to bursary recipients throughout the
course of their studies.

As well as funding for their studies and academic requirements, recipients also receive support in
the form of accommodation, meals, a living allowance, transport costs, life-skills development,

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tutoring, counselling and mentorship, all of which are intended to help them acclimatise to the
tertiary environment and to have the best possible chance of success in their chosen field of study.

Psycho-Social Support
Many bursary recipients simply cannot afford to support themselves during the course of their
studies and, for this reason, the Vhukoni Incentive Programme provides them with full-board
accommodation at a university residence. They also receive an allowance for personal expenses, and
are provided with funding that allows them to travel to and from their homes twice a year.

On a social level, recipients sometimes find it difficult to adjust to university life, and to the new
environment in which they find themselves. They therefore have access to counselling services to
help them make the transition, and to assist them in handling any personal issues that may arise
while they are at university.

As far as their studies are concerned, tutors are made available to aid them with any academic
challenges they may experience, especially when making the transition from school to university,
and when preparing for tests and exams.

Mentorship
Attrition rates at South African institutions of higher learning are unfortunately very high. According
to the South African Journal of Science (2012):
 30% of students registered at tertiary education institutions leave within the first year;
 50% do not complete the qualification that they registered to study for;
 38% of students registered at universities leave the institution without graduating after
five years; and
 27% of students registered at faculties of engineering do not graduate, and do not re-
register after five years.

This is why peer and industry mentorship is so important, and why it is a fundamental component of
the Vhukoni offering.

In addition to the financial and experiential learning that beneficiaries of the Vhukoni Incentive
Programme receive, the administrators commit to pairing each student with a relevant industry
expert who will fulfil the role of mentor. The purpose of this is to provide a tangible support
structure, a mechanism for skills transfer and industry exposure for the student. Active mentorship
also provides exposure to an industry network, and allows for the transfer of leadership qualities
and skills.

The mentorship scheme aims to:

 Provide an industry-based support structure for the student;
 Provide a platform for skills transfer; and
 Provide students with industry exposure during the course of their studies.

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Apply Here [Page Six]
Candidates for the Vhukoni bursary scheme must meet the basic requirement for their chosen
course of study, and must be able to prove financial need. For further information, click through to
the Contact Us page and call us or mail us with your queries.

If you feel you meet the qualifying criteria, apply here for a Vhukoni Incentive Programme bursary.

Funders prefer to process applications early, so the deadline for applications is 31 August every year.
Late applications may, however, be considered on merit.

[Bursary application form]

What’s Happening at Vhukoni [Page Seven]

[Latest news about Vhukoni recipients and graduates]

Contact Us [Page Eight]

For further information about the Vhukoni Incentive Programme contact:

[Names and contact details]

End.