Seventy-three trainees at the Rand Water Academy (RWA) are set to embark on the next phase of their three-year professional development internship at several municipalities in Mpumalanga and Gauteng over the coming 18 months.
This follows the completion of 18 months of intensive scientific, engineering and technical on-site training at RWA.
“It’s been a rigorous training programme for the graduates … and it has made us all proud of their achievements. The placement of the first batch of graduates was a major milestone in the history of the academy,” RWA programme manager Asief Alli said in a statement on Wednesday.
The RWA graduates, which comprised 30 water quality generalists, 40 process controllers and three engineers, would be absorbed into the Govan Mbeki, Emalahleni and Thembisile Hani local municipalities, as well as the City of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipalities.
The academy, which aimed to deal with the critical skills shortage in the water and sanitation sector, had engaged several local district municipalities and metropolitan municipalities to establish their needs and subsequently plan further intake of graduates.
“The programme’s key mandate is to develop and train unemployed water and wastewater graduates in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State provinces,” Alli explained.
Following placement at the municipalities, Rand Water planned to monitor the graduates’ progress and provide mentorship and technical support.