The Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) and the German Chamber of Crafts (HWK) Erfurt have launched a three-year structured technical and vocational education and training (TVET) partnership, focused on skills development for electric mobility.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, implemented by Sequa and managed by HWK Erfurt, the project will run until the end of 2028, with the aim of strengthening South Africa’s readiness for the transition to electric and hybrid vehicle technology.

HWK Erfurt represents around 14 000 member companies in the German federal state of Thuringia.

It has been almost ten years since HWK Erfurt initiated its first educational project in South Africa.

The institution has the formal educational mandate for the skilled trades in Germany, including the responsibility for training, continued education and journeyman exams.

E-mobility has been embedded in its curriculum since 2015, supported by dedicated training vehicles and structured e-mobility programmes.

“Our project focus today lies in the field of e-mobility skills training,” says HWK Erfurt CEO Thomas Malcherek.

RMI CEO Ipeleng Mabusela stresses that skills development must move ahead of market shifts.

South Africa’s automotive aftermarket accounts for more than half of the auto sector’s value-add, and around 70% of total automotive employment at more than 23 000 businesses – largely small, medium-sized and microenterprises, he notes.

While battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake remains below 1.5% of the national vehicle parc, hybrid vehicles are already reshaping workshop realities.

“Hybrids lead today, BEVs will grow next, and it is critical that skills move ahead of the market,” emphasises Mabusela.

He says that the skills impact of new energy vehicles (NEVs) is felt early in the aftermarket, long before large-scale vehicle volumes are reached.

This makes early alignment between industry, colleges and government essential.

“That is why this project also partners with the Department of Higher Education and Training – to align policy, skills and economic reality.”

For the participating colleges, the project represents a practical step towards implementation.

Tshwane South TVET College acting principal Goodman Mnisi says that partnerships must translate into functioning training pipelines.

“The transition to electric and hybrid vehicles is no longer a future discussion.

“It is a present reality that requires lecturers who are confident, workshops that are correctly equipped, and curricula that are aligned to occupational standards.”

Tshwane South previously hosted national lecturer training in NEV technologies under an earlier HWK Erfurt initiative in 2024.

The new TVET–HWK Erfurt partnership will focus on lecturer development, high-voltage safety, curriculum enhancement and strengthened collaboration between colleges and industry workplaces.

By combining the German dual education system’s integration of theory and practice with South Africa’s occupational framework, the project aims to build sustainable, scalable programmes that support employability and enterprise development.