A public–private partnership (PPP) between electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics, the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Merseta) and the Department of Higher Education and Training is hoping to plug the skills gap in the technical services arena.

The parties on Thursday launched a refrigeration and air-conditioning training academy at the Kwa-Thema campus of the Ekurhuleni East Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in Springs.

The facility would provide select students with specialised, Merseta-accredited training in the area of refrigeration and air conditioning in an effort to upskill the youth and provide new entrepreneurial opportunities.

The 2016 intake of 20 students would receive full bursaries from Merseta and would be trained by facilitators at the Ekurhuleni East TVET College at no cost.

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande asserted that the academy had the potential to reduce the shortage of artisans in the refrigeration and air-conditioning space by upskilling the youth for employability, encouraging entrepreneurship and opening up new business opportunities.

“This is the hoped-for outcome of any higher education and we are happy to get behind an initiative that has this promise,” he noted in a statement.

Samsung Electronics services director Richard Chetty told Engineering News Online at the launch that the multinational would support the facility though the provision of technical expertise, infrastructure, a holistic curriculum, test units, and air-conditioning and refrigeration units.

“There is a tremendous shortage of these skills in the industry . . . and the qualification provided by the academy will be linked to various government initiatives and needs.

“The development of these students is not only for education and learning purposes, it’s [also to ensure] employment and create entrepreneurs that can be incorporated into the Samsung [value-chain],” he remarked, adding that the group’s investment underpinned Samsung’s commitment to advancing technical skills and employability in South Africa.

At the core of the initiative, added Merseta CEO Dr Richard Raymond Patel, was the promotion of skills development to close the existing skills gap.

“Our partnership with Samsung on this initiative makes sense as they are helping to address the shortage of an important skill in a credible way,” he held.

Ekurhuleni East TVET College principal Helen Sibande added that the academy was a “great” addition to the school’s course offering.