Malusi Mtuli and Kiran Moorley are at the forefront of the empowerment challenges facing the property industry as the first home-grown Durbanites to join the JHI Real Estate CRAFT programme in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

CRAFT stands for Creating Real Advancement for Tomorrow. It was started by JHI in 1995 as an innovative approach to mentorship and training in the property industry. One year in duration, CRAFT gives young property practitioners hands-on training and exposure to a variety of property fields. Candidates start with three to four months in the property management division. Then they move on to broking, retail management, valuations, marketing and research.

"We are very fortunate to have selected two quality candidates in Malusi and Kiran," says Rob Moran, regional director of JHI KZN.

Kiran Moorley is a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of KZN, and Malusi Mthuli, previously a trainee property valuer with the Ethekwini Municipality, is studying for his diploma in Real Estate Management through UNISA.

"We aim to provide CRAFT candidates with valuable on-the-job training and a clear overview of what commercial and industrial property - and all its varied disciplines - is all about," says Moran.

So far, JHI's CRAFT programme has produced 17 'graduates', six women and eleven men. In recent years, the number of women accepted onto the course has been rising. The direct cost to JHI of each candidate is around R120,000 for the year and the company takes about three new candidates annually.

CRAFT has helped JHI to pinpoint several key success factors for empowerment programmes. They offer a worthwhile guide for other property companies wanting to initiate empowerment training and learnerships. High-profile 'graduates' include Oaraona Khama of RMB Properties, Tshepo Matlala of Matreal Property Services, and Lebo Molapo, of the Johannesburg Property Company.