. . . Partners with DIVT for potable skills grade-testing
With persistent concerns about the shortage of skills to meet industry needs in the country, and complaints about skills mismatch, Maloma Colliery Limited has stepped up to the place to promote Vocational skills training for young people.
The mine has partnered with the Directorate of Industrial and Vocational Training (DIVT) to provide grade testing services for youths in the three chiefdoms in which the mine operates, who have acquired potable skills on an informal basis.
The three chiefdoms are located in the Lubombo and Shiselweni regions and they are the Mamba, Dlamini and Mngomezulu clans. Their population is estimated to be about 100, 000 people.
Grade testing
About 100 youths from the three host communities have recently gone through the grade testing. Some have been employed at the mega billion Mpakeni Dam project. In the partnership, the DIVT offers grade testing services and turns the young people into professionals. The DIVT provides these services from the mine’s premises to ensure easy access for the beneficiaries.
They include young people who may have all along been assisting hands to bricklayers, welders, plumbers, carpenters or electricians and may have acquired viable skills to go out on their own and apply these skills.
It would be costly for these young people to register their activities with the grade testing ans qualifications institutions. That is why Maloma, as part of giving back to the communities it operates in, has entered into the partnership with the DIVT to pay for logistics and facilitate that officials visit the communities for on site grade testing.
Vusi Khumalo, the representative for the Dlamini chiefdom under Chief Gasa, thanked Maloma mine for opening the window of opportunity for the young people to obtain their formal qualifications through the grade testing.
“We are grateful to Maloma Mine for assisting in creating a bright future for our youths. The younths have received this opportunity witn botn hands as it empowers
them to be the masters of their own destiny and to create jobs for their peers,” Khumalo said.
“These young people have the basic skills and some of them have put them to good use. However, they need to go through proper grade testing procedures, hence the partnership with the DIVT.”
Maloma mine contributes to the logistics and costs such as allowances, stipends, and nutritional needs of the officials of the DIVT. The costs of the grade testing itself are borne by the DIVT.
In another matter, Maloma Colliery Limited adopted and supports the Lulakeni Vocational Training Centre, which is located within reach of the three host communities, to coordinate the training and facilitate the apprenticeship for the youths of the areas. There are no entry requirements, and no fees are charged for the training received there.
The centre functions as the administrative hub for the three host communities and is responsible for registering the youths. The mine provides the financial resources for the training and skills impartation to the youth by the organisation.