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Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba has officially launched the intake of a 1000 additional learner artisans at Transnet.

The learner artisans will be trained at six Transnet Engineering (TE) facilities across the country. This is in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).

“Transnet commenced a programme to oversee the optimisation of state owned companies’ (SOC) training facilities by enrolling additional artisans. This will address the shortage of scarce and critical skills needed in support of the New Growth Path,” said Gigaba at the launch on Thursday.

In the Department of Public Enterprises’ (DPE) 2013 budget vote, the minister committed SOCs to take in young people from across the country for training in several scarce and critical skills such as artisans, and technicians.

To implement the plan as part of the National Skills Development Strategy of the country, DHET Minister Blade Nzimande -- as custodian of the National Skills Fund (NSF) -- agreed with Gigaba that the NSF allocated resources to Transnet to ensure that additional learners are trained at its six facilities across the country.

The NSF allocated R175 million to Transnet Engineering to train an additional 1 000 learners over the next three years.

Gigaba encouraged SOCs to ensure that beyond providing skills and training to young people, they must provide enterprise development so that learners have the requisite skills and employment opportunities in order to form youth owned cooperatives and SMMEs. This will help in creating jobs not only for themselves but for fellow youth in the country.

In addition, Gigaba urged the private sector to play the critical role of ensuring that the additional artisans being trained by Transnet are absorbed into employment opportunities in the broader mainstream economy.

At the launch at Transnet’s School of Engineering in Salt River, Cape Town, Transnet signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three Further Education and Training Institutions (FET) in the Western Cape. This is in line with the government prescribed National Skills Accord, where SOCs and the private sector form partnerships with FET institutions to develop scares skills in the country.

The MoUs were signed with the False Bay, Northlink and West Coast FET colleges.

Additionally Transnet committed to open the School of Engineering facilities in Salt River to learners and educators of the three FET colleges, where the SOC will provide learners with trade tests and opportunities for practical exposure. – SAnews.gov.za