The Durban South Training Centre, run by the Durban South Training Trust (DSTT), was officially re-opened at new premises with bigger facilities.

During the July 2021 civil unrest, DSTT premises were looted and vandalised. Sapref as sole funder of DSTT sourced new premises for the training centre DSTT now operates from 50 Prospecton road, Isipingo.

“When the DSTT premises were vandalised, as petroleum refinery Sapref we made a promise to ourselves; that we will not let this act deter us from our mission.

"At Sapref, safety is our number one priority and skills development our passion. Our skills development motto is ‘We Grow our People’. Today, we are opening this centre as a recommitment to growing the skills pipeline,” says Sapref MD Victor Bester.

Bester mentions that the re-opening of the centre offers opportunities to 122 learners who form part of the 2022 intake through various skills development programmes offered by the Prospecton-based refinery. These learners will go through a learnership that covers three National Qualification Framework levels.

In each level, they spend six months acquiring theoretical knowledge at the centre and the other six months with host companies for practical experiential learning.

According to Bester, the DSTT forms part of the broader social responsibility initiatives that the organisation has to empower the community through education. Currently, Sapref has 30 grade 11 and 12 learners in the Sapref Schools pipeline programme.

He adds that this programme is aimed at identifying learners with potential at school level and exposing them to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunities.

Chemical operations learnerships, and apprenticeships in electrical engineering, mechanical fitting and instrumentation are also offered to the youth of Durban South by Sapref.

“We are proud to announce that Mhlengi Shange from Menzi High School, a Sapref scholarship recipient, and a Top 2 KwaZulu-Natal matriculants in 2021 has been awarded a full university bursary. “He will be studying chemical engineering at the University of Cape Town,” adds Bester.

A full bursary in mechanical engineering was awarded to Jada King, while an electrical engineering bursary was awarded to Siyabonga Langa.

In his keynote address, Basic Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu commended the work that Sapref is doing in the skills development space. “This initiative is in line with the National Development Plan to produce 30 000 artisans by 2030,” he said.