The Thabazimbi campus of Waterberg TVET College was opened in June this year by the department of higher education and training to supply skills needed in the area.
In 1995 the Limpopo economy was the second smallest in the country, but by 2014 it had grown to 7% of the country’s GDP. Limpopo’s average change in its contribution to GDP over the period has been the fastest in the country.
This favourable outcome is thanks to the province’s cluster-based development plan. In implementing this plan, effort is being made to anticipate the types of skills required according to economic opportunities within the identified growth points. It is a demand-pulled skills development effort.
For instance, in the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone there is an expected demand for 12 000 metallurgists. The province will, in partnership with investors, expose 200 young students to external training as metallurgists in that they in turn can train other young learners in metallurgy according to the skills requirements of the Special Economic Zone.
In an effort to capacitate TVET colleges to be responsive to the economic challenges of the country and the skills deficit, the department of higher education has embarked on several initiatives, including the development and circulation of an investment plan for the TVET colleges.
Nzimande has already committed R2.5-billion for TVET College expansion and capacity development programme, to be funded by the National Skills Fund and distributed over a three-year period. Limpopo public TVET colleges will be direct beneficiaries of this development initiative.
During his State of the Province Address last year, Premier Stan “Chupu” Mathabatha announced that the Limpopo Development Plan has identified economic regions that have significant potential to accelerate the industrialisation process in the province. Through the TVET colleges, the people of Limpopo can immensely benefit from these plans, through scarce skills course choices.
Limpopo’s TVET colleges
Sekhukhune TVET College promotes entrepreneurship training and capacity building, business support and mentoring, student support services and other Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) approved skills programmes for social and economic development. Courses include building construction, welding, motor mechanic, cabinet making and electrical engineering, civil engineering, electrical infrastructure, construction, finance, economics and accounting.
Lephalale TVET College is strategically situated in the economic hub of the Limpopo province, where mining opportunities are booming. Medupi Power Station, Exxaro Coal Mine and Matimba Power Station are situated in its vicinity. The Lephalale TVET College students can undertake business studies, hospitality, engineering studies, nature management and computer science. The college has a satellite campus at Modimolle. Murray & Roberts is training hundreds of artisans at the Tlhahlong training centre in partnership with the college and the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority. Siemens has supported this centre with significant capital investment.
Capricorn College has three campuses, each of which has a slightly different focus. The city campus in Polokwane offers business studies, engineering and National Curriculum Vocation subjects. Seshego township, outside Polokwane, has an engineering facility, while Senwabarwana, situated in a rural area, concentrates on teaching hospitality and hairdressing.
At the opening of the Thabazimbi Campus of the Waterberg TVET College this year in June, Nzimande said skills development and training was key for the industrialisation of Limpopo. Waterberg College operates as five business training centres across two municipalities, namely Lepelle-Nkumbi and Mogalakwena.
“In line with the Strategic Plan of the Waterberg TVET College, programme offerings of the campus will respond to the labour market of the Waterberg District and the Thabazimbi Local Municipality in particular, as well as the general human resource needs of Limpopo province,” said Nzimande.
“The core programme will respond to skills requirements of the mines through offering qualifications in the related trades as well as agriculture, business and entrepreneurship. As government we have taken a conscious decision to increase the accessibility of education and training to all South Africans. Today, I open this campus far away from the Witwatersrand economic hub. I do so specifically because we want to decentralise access to education and training and ensure that as many young people as possible in the deep rural corners of our country have access to TVET [Colleges].
“This is in line with the core policy objectives of the White Paper for Post-School Education, which calls for expanding access, improving quality and increasing diversity.”
Nzimande added that the approved construction contract value of the campus was R190 093 606, of which R28 514 014 was committed to local beneficiaries and procurement. Close to R1-million of the contract spend was committed to skills development. In a quid pro quo gesture of goodwill, the contractor added a further R838 040 to this amount to further ensure the success of the skills development programme.
Skills for the province
The Limpopo provincial government continues to invest heavily in training and development. It has a national pilot project in training for tool, dye and mould making; in 2015 Limpopo’s first 20 trainees qualified. There is also a plan to establish a Manufacturing Support Centre to ensure that the right skills are being taught to support industry.
During the 2014 and 2015 financial year, the provincial government made R12-million available for internships, bursaries and a commitment to employ 98 interns with a view to helping them train for the job market.
The Medupi Power Station Joint Venture (Grinaker-LTA, Murray & Roberts and Concor) has a training facility where about 1 300 local people have been trained to qualify for jobs on this complex building site. Far in the north of the province, De Beers has established a Skills Development Centre, linked to its Venetia Mine. The centre caters not only to mine employees, but also for local school pupils and adults from the community of Alldays.
Impala Platinum, along with its Limpopo subsidiary Marula Platinum, has a partnership with the national department of mineral resources and the Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management, which focuses on the training of black women in the mining industry. An MA in Science, Technology and Innovation is available to candidates, several of whom are now in management positions at Impala Platinum.
Amplats also has a new Mining Training Centre at its Twickenham Mine, which will also deliver training and assessment to staff on other operations.