CHIETA trains future workforce
ibuyile Njapha (23) hasn’t had it easy. She grew up in a low-income household, run by her mother — a domestic worker — in Kwamakhuta, a township south of Durban. Pursuing a career after school was not a possibility due to the family’s financial circumstances, and she had to lay her long-held dream of working in the chemical industry to rest.
But all that changed last year, when she came across a newspaper advertisement inviting young men and women to apply for a Chemical Operations or Welding learnership at the Coastal KZN TVET College. Njapha was one of 80 learners accepted into and enrolled in the three-year programme, which is a joint initiative of the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA), Coastal KZN TVET College and various other stakeholders i n the chemical industry.
CHIETA is a statutory body established by the Skills Development Act of 1998, to facilitate skills development in the Chemical Industry Sector and ensure that skills needs are i dentified and addressed through various initiatives.
Ayesha Itzkin, Acting Chief Executive of CHIETA, says: “Our main objective is to develop a range of artisans and other qualified persons for the chemical and the manufacturing industries of South Africa. In this regard, CHIETA is addressing the challenges of unemployment facing the South African youth, and we are doing so supported by the enabling skills development legislation promulgated by the ministry of higher education and training, and other training strategies such as the KZN Youth Development Strategy, which assists the youth to acquire relevant skills and competencies that culminate in the youth becoming work-ready.”
Itzkin adds: “CHIETA supports skills training across the spectrum, both for further and higher education and training, including the training of technicians, engineers, high level researchers, and of course at the equivalent levels to further education and training for artisans, glass formers, for the pharmaceutical industry related occupations, the coatings industry related occupations, etcetera.”
South Africa doesn’t only require university graduates, says Rajen Naidoo, CHIETA Regional Manager for KZN and the Eastern Cape. “South Africa needs a lot of skills. Based on a skills needs analysis conducted in the Durban South Basin, where there’s a density of chemical companies, we found that there is a need for plant operators, welders, boilermakers, electricians, welders, pipefitters, and others. CHIETA also supports the training of mechanics, riggers, fitters, millwrights, instrument mechanics, and other artisanal skills. These skills do not get taught at universities and Universities of Technologies.”
Consequently CHIETA decided to partner with Coastal KZN TVET College and a number of other TVET Colleges across South Africa to ensure that industry- acceptable training is available. In the Coastal TVET College project, CHIETA brought together several of its member companies — Engen, Dulux, Cipla, ImproChem, SAPREF (a joint venture between Shell SA Refining and BP Southern Africa) and other companies — to offer a fully-funded, three-year training on the National Certificate in Chemical Operations programme. Welder training and other priority skills will be appraised next.
After a period of three years, learners will exit the programme sufficiently equipped with knowledge, competencies and 15 months of workplace experience (in the form of in-service training); they will be fully prepared and able to secure employment with any of the chemical industry partners.
Mo n i c a N g c o n g o , A s s i s t a n t Ma n a g e r : Q u a l i t y A s s u r a n c e , Coastal KZN TVET College, said the College was inundated with applications. “The stakeholders had agreed on a list of requirements — for example, all applicants had to have passed matric with maths and science. We received many applications and had to select the best of these candidates.”
Like the bulk of KZN’s chemical i ndustry, the Umbumbulu campus at which the programme is offered is situated south of Durban. Consequently, applications received from areas like Umlazi, Kwamakhuta, Lamontville and Kwamashu are given preference.
Technical Colleges are now being transformed to become TVET Colleges. TVET is an abbreviation for Technical Vocational Education and Training. Essentially, this means that students need to receive education and training that prepares them for the world of work on the occupational qualification pathway.
CHIETA is the authority on occupationally directed training and guides the rollout of delivery in this regard, including advising on curriculum issues, accrediting the training, approving workplaces and certifying competent learners. Itzkin chairs the steering committee overseeing the rollout of this project, and she is passionate about “getting TVET Colleges to meet the standards required by industry through working together to up the training standards, supported by the real workplaces”.
The Coastal KZN TVET College is a merger of the former Durban Technical College, Swinton Road Technical College and Umlazi Technical College, and includes the former Umbumbulu and Appelsbosch Colleges of Education. It is the largest College in KwaZuluNatal, currently averaging about 15 000 full-time students and about 800 staff members.
According to Jonathan Kieser, Acting Manager: Linkages and Partnerships, Coastal College, TVET colleges have been mandated to become colleges of specialisation. “This (chemical operations) will be one of our specialisations because of the footprint we have; the chemical industries are situated close by,” he said. To this end, the college, CHIETA, and various role players from within the industry have put together a team tasked with overseeing the building of a simulated chemical operations plant at the college, he added.
One of the cornerstones of the programme is its integration of theoretical learning and industry specific training. Recently, new students underwent an intensive, weeklong visit to chemical companies including Engen, Dulux, ImproChem and SAPREF.
“This is what we are so excited about,” says Naidoo, pointing out that safety regulations within the chemical industry are rigid. “The industry has actually been very welcoming and made space for learners to be allowed on site.” In this way, students become familiar with the environments in which they will be working; they also benefit from campus visits from guest lecturers who are industry experts.
For student Zibuyile Njaphi, the future looks bright. “This is a lifechanging experience for me. It has taught me that the sky is the limit — we are the future of South Africa!”
Siyabulela Msomi (22) who hails from Highflats, a rural area on the South Coast of Durban, said that it was the first time that he’d been exposed to the chemical industry. “It was great, I learnt a lot,” he said. He felt the programme — which kicked off in June this year — equipped him thoroughly for employment. “It’s not like university where you are doing theory only. Here we also do practicals as part of the training, which gives us experience. I’m sure I’ll definitely get employment, since all the chemical companies are part of this programme and they promised to give us opportunities.” This would also translate into a better future for his family he said. “I come from a background in a rural area — this is going to help me a lot.”
Cindy Govender, Sustainable Development Manager at SAPREF, said that the involvement of SAPREF and other industry partners ensured that the TVET College offers a qualification that speaks to industry needs. “This is a response to the minister’s call to train for employment. In this partnership SAPREF stands to gain another source of a talent pool that is trained on industry specific outcomes and is ready for gainful employment. It is also an opportunity for SAPREF to contribute to the development of youth in the Durban South Basin,” she said.
“SAPREF proactively seeks to partner with the Durban South community on empowerment projects. This project in particular speaks to one of the main priorities at SAPREF, namely skills development. Through this project SAPREF has an opportunity to contribute to the development of more young people, thus making them more employable. This in itself is rewarding. The commitment of other industry partners ensures that these learners are not only looking to one company for employment, but rather to all committed stakeholders. SAPREF is proud to be associated with CHIETA and other partners who share the same vision for the youth of our community.”
Itzkin has been with CHIETA since 2003. She proudly observes: “Our SETA (Skills Education Training Authorities) is at the cutting edge of occupationally directed training and development, and CHIETA has achieved this by winning the trust and respect of its member companies. Throughout the 15 years of CHIETA’s existence, we have trained no less than 102 000 young people and workers to date, and this has all been done in an accountable and responsible manner. Since the commencement of the first five-year National Skills Development Strategy in the year 2000, CHIETA has consistently obtained unqualified audit outcomes year-on-year from the auditor general of South Africa.
“Contrary to the misconcep - tions that SETAs are sitting on pots of Skills Development Funds, CHIETA has not had any unused reserves of skills development funds, thus demonstrating that t h e s k i l l s d e v e l o p me n t levies obtained from the chemical industry have been responsibly disbursed back to our companies, based on verified training that companies applied to undertake and then carried out. I must commend our member companies, both the existing ones and the many new ones that are joining the CHIETA fraternity, for working so well with CHIETA to train the current and future workforce in the chemical and manufacturing sectors.”
The CHIETA/Industry/Coastal College Project will be formally launched in Durban on October 21 2015.