Khayelitsha Skills Development Summit

Garreth Bloor (Minister’s Office Representative), Cassie Kruger (FBC Principal), Zozo Siyengo (Chief Director FETC), Deputy Minister: Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana, Ndithini Tyhido (KDF Chairperson)

click to enlarge

The main of objective of the summit was to create a roadmap towards developing the skills, competency and progress of the community of Khayelitsha in order to advance economic and social upliftment.

The Khayelitsha Skills Development Summit forms part of the government's National Development Plan (NDP), which states that it is activities like artisanship "that provide shock absorbers for extreme poverty and platforms for self-employment" in developing countries.

The lack of artisans in our region could have a devastating impact on our economy as they play a critical role in the delivery of services, especially in the engineering trades.

The Khayelitsha Development Forum is a body that was established in 1995 to bring about development and regulation focusing on Infrastructure Development, Education, Business and many other spheres of development.

The event encompassed solutions through skills training and bridging the gaps for Khayelitsha youth to ensure that they are integrated into all educational structures. It provided a platform to interrogate the DHET White Paper pertaining to Community Colleges and looked at the possibilities for the creation of funds and bursaries.

Time was dedicated to the design of short courses aimed at artisanship to enhance youth empowerment and development as well as the conversion of the Khayelitsha Training Centre into an all-encompassing Information Community and Training Centre.

False Bay College co-hosted the Skills Summit and provided the necessary logistical support to ensure its success. The summit was aligned to the mandate of artisan training and it offered an ideal platform to drive awareness about artisan skills development for broader community of Khayelitsha.

Highlights of the event included an announcement by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, the Honourable Mduduzi Manana, that False Bay College will be awarded the Swartklip site as well as confirmation from the NYDA Deputy Chairperson, Mr Kenny Morolong, that 2015 will see the opening of a new NYDA office in Khayelitsha. This offered a great marketing opportunity for the College and its services to the entire community of Khayelitsha.