The Sorbet Group expands and re-launches its inspiring empowerment initiative

Leading Professional Beauty and Grooming brand, Sorbet, has expanded and re-launched the ground-breaking empowerment initiative first established in 2014. SEW (Sorbet Empowering Women+Men) will build on the successes of this empowering initiative, which has been proudly supporting the industry in pursuit of their career goals and personal dreams for the past eight years.

At the time SEW was launched, Sorbet raised more than R1 million to develop a training initiative dedicated to improving the career prospects and earning potential of historically disadvantaged people in South Africa. The company’s goal was to facilitate socio-economic upliftment by providing career and life skills training for women to enable them to enter into and thrive in the beauty and grooming industry. SEW enrols unemployed women and men into world class training affiliated to the Sorbet Group to gain the education needed to become a successful barber, hairstylist or beauty therapist.
We further support the process of sourcing well-suited candidates. Their competence, compassion and soft skills are pre-requisites, in ensuring high calibre professional graduates, enabling them to secure sustainable employment.

“With over 3000 employees, at Sorbet we believe in community and in family. We believe in giving back and being part of empowering lives. We want to make a meaningful difference to South Africa and the industry; this is why our SEW Foundation is built on empowering and touching lives in a positive way” says Linda Sinclair, CEO of the Sorbet Group.

The SEW Academy recruits, trains and mentors candidates – who wish to become professionals in skills such as nail care, beauty therapy, hair styling and barbering. Since it was established, 90% of our SEW graduates between 2014 and 2019 have successfully found employment as professionals in the beauty and grooming industry. This has had a positive impact on people in their immediate and extended families.

“Now our goal is to offer bursaries to individuals who demonstrate passion, competence, empathy and good interpersonal skills to train as nail techs, beauty therapists , barbers or hairstylists and so to enable them to obtain secure and sustainable employment,” says Sinclair. “It’s easy for potential candidates to apply, by emailing az.oc.tebros@wes or through our recruitment partner, Harambee, which is a youth employment accelerator at www.harambee.co.za.”

Sorbet is also inviting the public to support the work of the Sew Academy by making a donation of R10 or by purchasing any Sorbet product from any Sorbet Salon, Sorbet Nailbar, Sorbet Drybar, Sorbet MAN and Candi&Co. stores, as a percentage of sales will be donated to the Foundation.

“Selected suppliers will also be taking part in our fundraising effort,” says Sinclair. “Well-known brands like Exuviance, Skoon, Bio-sense and Dermalogica will be contributing to this drive by donating percentages from the sales of selected products. And we encourage corporates, especially those serving the youth market, to contribute too. Even My School cardholders can contribute by making Sew their beneficiary of choice so when you swipe, Sew will receive a contribution.

“Our goal is to raise R1m per year for education and skills bursaries and training,” says Linda Sinclair.

As 63.9% of young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 are jobless (Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Q1 2022), Sorbet Empowering Women+Men (Sew) couldn’t be more timely.

“At Sorbet, we are dedicated to uplifting people,” says Sinclair. “By inviting our Sorbet customers and corporates to contribute to Sew we are extending the potential of Sew. It’s our aim to touch even more lives and to act as a gateway to a lifetime of secure employment for the people of South Africa who may have lost all hope of finding work.”

Follow @sorbetgroup @sorbetdrybar @sorbetman or @candiandcosalon on social media for updates on Sorbet Empowering Women+Men or email az.oc.tebros@ofni for more information on how you can contribute to Sew.