CDC secures funding for its skills programme
The Coega Development Corporation has signed a cooperation agreement with the Food and Beverages SETA which will see the opening of 150 apprenticeships and learnerships in the electrical and mechanical engineering trades.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Nelson Mandela Bay on Wednesday, CDC Executive for Human Capital Solutions Zuko Mapoma said the employment of only one person could make a significant difference in most families.
“Worth about R9 million, SETA's commitment will bring the total funding secured by the CDC for the next two years close to R120 million.
“The number of learners to be trained within this period will rise to just over 5,000,” said Mapoma.
The learnership programmes have been successful with progression rates ranging between 80 and 85%, Mapoma said; however, convincing young people to enroll in the learnership programmes remained a significant challenge.
Most of the youth were looking for employment opportunities and did not have patience of going through the programmes.
“We have made significant headways though in presenting the learnerships as better platforms to increase employability,” said Mapoma.
He said the learnerships were appropriately aligned with the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) initiative which is part of government's Accelerated Share Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) programme to half unemployment by 2014.
The corporation has played a significant role in skills development initiatives in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape Province at large through its Human Capital Solutions Business Unit.
Last month, the corporation announced that its skills development efforts, over the last few years, had ended with plans to build a high-tech skills development centre in the second half of 2008.
This was in light of the projected increase in demand for skilled labour.
Food and Beverage SETA Chief Executive Officer Ravin Deonarain said Coega was a premier development site in the country and its work in skills development was encouraging.
“It is a noble and commendable initiative worth our firm commitment,” said Deonarain.
On the other hand, total investments in the Coega IDZ, to date, sum up to about R30 billion.
This includes the multi-billion rand Coega aluminum smelter, the planned R5.8 billion chlorine and water desalination plants by Straits Chemicals amongst others.
Article published courtesy of BuaNews
