OVERVIEW Education and
OVERVIEW Education and training Skills development programmes are expanding. SECTOR INSIGHT UFS researchers are doing advanced work on protein structure prediction. The CUT Hotel School has a new roof. Credit: CUT/Sebedisan Group An extensive Skills Development Programme is giving young people skills and work experience in a variety of fields. The Provincial Government of the Free State spent about R120-million training 3 367 people in 2020/21 on various skills programmes. These were supported by placements with government departments and with private businesses: 120 unemployed graduates were specifically supported by the province on stints at companies. Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) are involved in the programmes which include graduate internships, learnerships, short-skills programmes and workintegrated learning methods. The province’s road-building unit will link up with TVET college graduates to provide specific work training. A national policy of promoting training in critical trades has been adopted. Two of the three campuses of Flavius Mareka TVET College are designated Centres of Specialisation, for electrical work at Sasolburg and plumbing at Kroonstad. The Mphohadi campus of the college is also in Kroonstad. The Free State has about 14 000 students at four Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, taught by 400 lecturers. All of the colleges have multiple sites. Maluti TVET College in Phuthaditjhaba, for example, offers classes at eight sites. Motheo TVET College operates in Bloemfontein and Thaba Nchu, while Goldfields TVET College is headquartered in Welkom with some classes offered in Thabong and a satellite campus at Virginia (Meloding). The University of the Free State has 158 researchers rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF), two A-rated scientists and five tier-one SARChi research chairs. The university has 18 international research partnerships and produces an average of 240 postgraduate research degrees every year. A team of undergraduates from the UFS Department of Animal Sciences won the 2021 national quiz held at the 52nd congress of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS). At the same event, Andries van der Merwe, a postgraduate student, received the SASAS Student Postgraduate Merit Award for exceptional academic achievement. Dr Sinobongo Mdyogolo, a PhD student, was presented with the SASAS Bronze Medal in respect of her PhD achievements in the research and technology transfer categories. A group of academics from the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry has been involved in an exciting international collaboration of researchers which solved a difficult and intricate problem in science, FREE STATE BUSINESS 2022 44
FOCUS De Beers and Moqhaka Municipality “Changing Lives” Learning new skills gives young people employment opportunities. In efforts to contribute to local skills development, local employment and advancing the social and economic role of our host communities, De Beers Voorspoed Mine partnered with Moqhaka Local Municipality and the Department of Employment and Labour to place trainees in fields of plumbing, welding and water treatment for a 12-month work-integrated learning programme. The programme intends to provide an opportunity for the youth of Moqhaka to acquire extra skills in plumbing, welding and water treatment. The programme will enable the trainees to develop skills with on-the-job and core training at Moqhaka Municipality. Despite the low levels of economic activity in our province, there are job opportunities in the welding industry and the need for skills is massive. The youth will be empowered to maximise their potential along with a tailored plan to provide them with a future to make a difference. As they progress through their learnership programme, we will help them discover their real capability and develop their skills as artisans. At De Beers Group, we are driven by our purpose to Make Life Brilliant for our people, our customers and those living in the communities where we operate. We are working to define a new world where brilliance is achieved every day. It is for this reason that we placed talented individuals to participate in our Learnership Programme for the benefit of our communities. The remarkable contribution that diamonds continue to make even after life-of-mine towards skills development in Fezile Dabi district, owes a great deal to the effectiveness of the partnerships we have forged with local governments and our empowerment partners. The framework for these principles is defined in terms of our social licence to operate. Young people in the Fezile Dabi District Municipality are learning new skills in plumbing, welding and water treatment through a joint programme of De Beers Group and the Department of Employment and Labour. About De Beers Group De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20 000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers Group are committed to “Building Forever” by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. ■ For further information about De Beers Group, visit www.debeersgroup.com. 45 FREE STATE BUSINESS 2021/22
