I know for sure that it’s no easy road to a successful and rewarding career. With little guidance in schools, it’s tough to decide on a career direction, and it’s even tougher to obtain the qualifications you need once you’ve decided what to do. I know this from personal experience, because I went to a township school in Umlazi, where I was born , and even though I went on to Adams College later, I had almost no idea of what path to take when I finished matric.

At that stage, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to study at the University of Cape Town, and at first I thought I’d study medicine because so many people wanted to do it that it seemed like an obvious choice. I ended up doing a BSc in Computer Science, though, and later joined Southern Life as a systems developer.

It was there I realised that I hadn’t made the right career choice, but I really wasn’t certain what to do next. Luckily my boss, a chartered accountant, offered a willing ear, and I was able to discuss my dilemma with him. This led to me embarking on further studies and, sponsored by Southern Life, I returned to university to study to become a CA myself. 

I later did my articles at Deloitte and Touche, after which I joined their corporate finance division. It was a wonderful career move, but I was struck by how few people of colour there were in the accounting profession. 

It was this that ignited a passion in me to create the kind of environment in which black professionals could thrive and, together with a business partner, I went on to establish my own professional services firm. After a recent merger, this has become SekelaXabiso, the second largest black auditing firm in the country in terms of resources, capacity, expertise and revenue.

Although we’re a much bigger firm now, we’re continuing with the corporate social investment focus we first adopted in 2005, and we strongly support the education and development of young black professionals. We do this in two ways, firstly by sponsoring selected learners from Grade 10 through to Grade 12, and secondly by supporting the Thuthuka Training Programme, a groundbreaking education and mentorship initiative started by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

When my partner and I first conceptualised a corporate social investment programme for our company, we decided to visit schools in our home towns, and we discovered a litany of problems facing the learners there. Some are Aids orphans, either struggling to keep their families together themselves or being cared for by grandparents living on social grants. Others live in shacks, which is hardly a conducive environment in which to study. All are facing socio-economic problems of some kind or another, and it was clear to us that if we wanted to embark on a CSI programme, we needed to start right there.

Now SekelaXabiso ‘adopts’ selected learners in Grade 10, paying for their tuition, uniforms, books, stationery and extra lessons, and providing them with the support they need to take their studies further at tertiary level. Beneficiaries aren’t obliged to choose accountancy as a career, but three of them have chosen that direction, and are currently in the final year of their accountancy degrees at UCT.

Needless to say, financial constraints are a major obstacle when it comes to studying accountancy, and that’s where Thuthuka comes in.

Thuthuka is a nation-wide programme, funded by private enterprise, that places between 250 and 300 students at a time at SAICA-accredited universities in order to study towards a BCom degree in accounting. Qualifying students receive full bursaries, which cover their study expenses and provide for living expenses too. They can study at any participating university, including the Universities of KwaZulu Natal, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Cape Town and the Free State, or at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. Applicants must have attained sufficient points to qualify for university entrance, must have passed Grade 11 maths with a mark of at least 60%, and must be able to demonstrate financial need.

What’s really important about this programme is that it provides both financial and psycho-social support. Mentors are allocated to each student, and they assist with personal and practical issues, as well as with issues related to the course of study. It’s this support structure that has made the programme so successful, and it’s one of the many reasons we support it.

In fact, SekelaXabiso currently contributes R140 000 a year to Thuthuka, which provides for two students, and we’d really like to see more companies like ours contributing towards the programme.

It’s a passion of mine to invest in talented young people because it’s an investment in the future. Southern Life invested in me, and today my company employs 300 people, 250 of whom are professionals. That opportunity changed my life, and now I hope to give the same kind of opportunity to others.

Two of Thuthuka’s graduates are, in fact, employed at SekelaXabiso, and are amongst our company’s best performers.

The bottom line is that addressing barriers to entry is essential if we’re going to pave the way for disadvantaged students to build successful careers, which is why I’m such a committed advocate for Thuthuka. Investing in the education of CAs offers the best kind of return on investment. Not only does it represent a real contribution to the development of a prosperous and stable society, it provides the kind of skills pool necessary to support a strong and vibrant accountancy sector.

You know, everyone needs a first step. The support I received from Southern Life was the first step for me, and it changed my life. So I hope that many others will be able to benefit from programmes like Thuthuka - because the future starts here.

For further information on SekelaXabiso visit www.sekelaxabiso.co.za. For further information on the Thuthuka Training Programme, visit the web site of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants at www.saica.co.za.

Written by Lindani Dhlamini, CEO of professional services firm SekelaXabiso