If the country is serious about skills development, it has to start from the grassroots that is in townships and rural areas where most of the youth are unemployable as a result of lacking vital skills. Encouragingly, this is what is happening.
An initiative of the Uitenhage Despatch Development Initiative (UDDI) in partnership with Filpro, an enterprise development company established to empower informal automotive entrepreneurs in South Africa, will train 106 young people from townships in Nelson Mandela Municipality into mechanics through a two-year Informal Automotive Service Centres Development Programme. The programme covers theoretical and practical training through key skills development channels.
The initial phase of the programme will be on basic business management and entrepreneurial skills development such as financial administration, customer care, sales and marketing. The next phase will be hands-on and cover product training on automotive filters, brake pads, lubricants and spark plugs. Entrepreneurs will also learn the importance of using genuine automotive parts, laws of product, the Consumer Protection Act, as well as environmentally-friendly methods for recycling used car parts and oil.
The group of generalist mechanics, tyre repairs and panel beaters from KwaNobuhle, Khayamnandi and KwaLanga are the first beneficiaries of the programme, which is the first in Eastern Cape. All participants are running operational automotive-related ventures and were selected at UDDI and Filpro roadshows held in Uitenhage and Despatch.
The programme is also running in Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Free State, Northern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga and North West.
Acting UDDI enterprise development manager, Wandisiwe Nondlazi, says the training will enable mechanics, who already know how to repair cars, conduct their services professionally conduct these services.
UDDI chief executive officer, Patricia Dlamini, adds: “Our partnership with Filpro is founded on a shared vision for empowering township-based businesses as a way of accelerating economic activity and employment opportunities. At the heart of the programme is supplier development and market linkages which have proven to be a challenge for many small businesses. This makes us optimistic that upon completion of the programme, these entrepreneurs will not only offer a professional service, but will create sustainable job opportunities and thus uplift the local community.”
