City’s Carbon-Smart Programme creating jobs and upskilling women

26 May 2026

On Friday, 22 May 2026, International Biodiversity Day, the City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Management Department held its annual Carbon-Smart Skills Development Programme graduation ceremony, where 23 women graduated at the Alphen Centre in Constantia. The City’s Carbon Smart Programme, which aims to empower women from vulnerable communities through skills development and economic participation, has successfully employed 47 women over its three years of existence and continues to grow.

‘Congratulations to all the graduates this year. The Carbon-Smart Graduation Ceremony marks an important milestone in recognising the achievements of these ladies who have successfully completed the programme, equipping them with critical skills to support sustainable and low-carbon development in the advancement of Carbon-Smart initiatives,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

The Carbon-Smart Skills Development Programme was established to address environmental challenges linked to biomass waste and landfill pressures and it has evolved into a model example of how sustainability, innovation and community empowerment can work together to transform lives.

‘Let me give one example of how this programme is changing lives. Take Gcobisa Ndabeni for example. Gcobisa had been without a job for 13 years. She joined the City as a general worker via the EPWP jobseekers database and it completely changed her life. She went back to school. She can now support her family of seven. Her eldest daughter is in university as we speak and she is more determined to develop her skills,’ said Alderman Andrews.

Participants in the programme receive practical workplace exposure and technical training in green construction methods, manufacturing, environmental management, entrepreneurship, workplace readiness and computer literacy.

The programme also delivers tangible employment outcomes. For example:

Five participants secured permanent employment outside the City
One participant obtained permanent employment within the City of Cape Town
Four internal promotions were achieved
Six participants registered their own businesses

‘When I started in September 2023, I was unemployed for months and was worried that my age would hold me back from finding a job. A few months after filling in the City’s jobseekers database I got a call. At first I thought I was going to be a cleaner, but I was actually placed in the Carbon-Smart programme in Ndabeni. Today I am a supervisor. I have completed a lot of training and even started my own food garden. With the skills I am getting from this programme, I am determined to one day start my own business,’ said Lynette Meyi.

The programme is managed by the City’s Biodiversity Management Branch within the Environmental Management Department and focuses on manufacturing Biomass-Recycled Insulated Concrete (BRIC); an innovative building material made using invasive alien tree biomass, cement and recyclable materials such as plastic and glass.

The Carbon-Smart team manufactures a range of products including desks, tables, coffee tables, paving, decorative items and building blocks while contributing to green infrastructure projects across the city.

To register on the City’s jobseekers database, residents can visit their nearest subcouncil office or apply online here: https://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/jobseeker

Caption 1: Alderman Eddie Andrews addressing guests and graduates at the Carbon-Smart Skills Development Programmes graduation Ceremony on Friday, 22 May 2026 at the Alphen Centre
Caption 2: Group picture of all in attendance on Friday, 22 May 2026, at the Alphen Centre
Caption 3: A panel discussion in which some of the graduates shared their testimonies and experiences with the Carbon-Smart programme

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office