Cecil is a registered educational psychologist and is the ombudsman on the Masizame Management Board. He has been in private practice for the past eleven years. His professional career began in 1986 as a teacher at a primary school in Port Elizabeth. He accepted a departmental transfer to the Department of Correctional Services in 1988 and served as the head of the education department within a maximum security prison which, at the time, also served juvenile offenders. In December, 1989, Cecil became the Village Director of the newly established SOS Children’s Village in Port Elizabeth and served in this position for six years. During this period he acquired valuable experience and knowledge concerning working with severely troubled children and youth, working in a multi-cultural environment as well as managing an organisation. In 1995, he was selected to form part of a group of itinerant trainers who travelled around the country presenting short-courses to child and youth care workers under the auspices of an NGO called National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW). During this time, he went on two study tours to Denmark to learn about alternative methods of working with severely troubled children and youth. In 2006 he joined another NGO called Child and Youth Care Agency for Development (CYCAD) as the training manager and worked in this capacity for six years. It was at this point that he furthered his studies (on a part-time basis) to become a registered educational psychologist. Apart from running his practice, he also owns and runs a training company with a national footprint specializing in ‘soft’ skills.