SPECIAL FEATUREMeloding
SPECIAL FEATUREMeloding Day Care Centre will host ECD teacher training.Promoting skills at all levelsFor pre-schoolers, students and graduates, training and skills are being provided bya diverse and enthusiastic group of volunteers, companies and agencies.There is considerable activity taking placein the education sector, over and abovethe efforts of the Free State Departmentof Education and all of the institutions thatoperate under it and the two national departmentsof education.More than 1 200 schools are listed by theNational Department of Basic Education, there arefour multi-campus Technical Vocational Educationand Training (TVET) Colleges and two universities,the Central University of Technology and theUniversity of the Free State.Promoting skills development is a growingtrend. A Free State Skills Indaba was held in 2024,which focused on skills for SMMEs and unemployedyoung people. The skills development programmesof the Free State Provincial Government’sprogrammes have accommodated more than3 000 unemployed graduates, including 300 whoqualify for Artisan Recognition of Prior Learningas well as apprenticeships and learnershipprogrammes. Various Sector Education TrainingAuthorities (SETAs) have contributed R131-millionto enable these programmes, including merSETA,Construction SETA, FASSET, ServicesSETA, BankSETAand Energy and Water SETA. Another 2 000unemployed people will benefit from a schemefunded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund.Empowering early childhood educationTraining for teachers of Early Childhood Developmenthas received a boost in the Virginia area. MelodingECD Teacher Training Centre was launched in 2024with the support of Vesconite Bearings.A not-for-profit organisation known as Love Trust,with 10 affiliate ECD teacher-training centres, willFREE STATE BUSINESS 202512
SPECIAL FEATUREsupport the training of facilitators and assist withadministrative tasks to ensure teachers meet NQFLevel 4 ECD training standards.Support has also been received from organisationssuch as the Real Great Stuff (RGS) Group and the AlainLeger Personal Trust. The initiative holds personalsignificance for the Leger family, honouring thelegacy of Elizabeth Maire Leger, the wife of VesconiteBearings’ founder, Alain Leger.Over a two-year period, 11 teachers will undergoNQF Level 4 ECD training through Saturday sessionsthat will enable them to enhance their skills andfoster their roles within their respective institutions.The project aspires to redefine early childhoodeducation in the broader Virginia area, challengingconventional notions of rote learning. Emphasisingplay-centred teaching, the curriculum aims tocultivate a holistic range of skills, fostering creativityand critical developmental skills among students.Zamdela initiativesFurther north, the Metsimaholo Local Municipalityarea hosts nearly 100 ECD centres. The area’s biggestcommercial concern, Sasol, has consistently beendevoting resources to assisting many of thesecentres, many of which are located in Zamdela, atownship on the outskirts of Sasolburg. A multi-yearcampaign saw pit toilets replaced at many schoolsand other infrastructure was installed, for examplekitchens and vegetable gardens. Furthermore, Sasolprovides financial support for teacher training andhas worked with Rotary to supply educational toysand materials.Sasol’s support for education aims to enable“access to quality education opportunities fromearly childhood education to employment”. Asthe company states in relation to Zamdela: “ECDlearners – whose early-education experiences Sasolis working hard to improve – feed into the localprimary and then high-school environments, allof which Sasol continuously supports with grants,training, bursaries and technical support. This longtermcommitment is changing thousands of youngSasolburg lives every year.”After schoolLearnerships are learning programmes that requireon-the-job learning supported by structured orSasol supports ECD initiatives in Zamdela.institutional learning. Sasol has learnerships in avariety of fields, including boilermaking, chemicalplantoperations, electrical operations, fitting,turning, rigging and welding.Furthermore, Sasol offers many bursaryprogrammes. These includes the Sasol MiningFence-line Bursary Programme which is aimed atcommunities that live adjacent to Sasol facilities inthree province, including the Free State. Bursariescover full-time undergraduate degree studies inEngineering, Science and Technology (not hybriddegrees) at recognised South African universitiesbut not at UNISA. Tuition fees, a living allowance andpsychosocial support are among things covered inthis comprehensive bursary.Smart Skills CentreA Smart Skills Centre is to be launched in the Malutia-PhofungLocal Municipality, which includesQwaqwa, Kestell and Harrismith.The Chemical Industries Education and TrainingAuthority (CHIETA) has signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with the Free State Departmentof Education to establish a centre of digital excellence.CHIETA is in the process of establishing such centresall across South Africa.This initiative is part of CHIETA’s broader strategyto expand access to digital education andfoster socio-economic development in rural andunderserved regions.“This partnership reflects our commitment toensuring that we make an impact by bridging13FREE STATE BUSINESS 2025
