Specialised technical skills, development and training in the automotive sector are constantly highlighted by industry as a challenge impeding its ability to become globally competitive, says the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC).

The outcome of the National Planning Commission’s diagnostic report, released in June 2011, highlighted a skills defecit, which when compared with the automotive industry’s Vision 2020 is concerning and requires strategic focus, says AIDC CEO Barlow Manilal.

Therefore, the AIDC representing the Gauteng provincial govern- ment, will be establishing the country’s first government-owned Automotive Training Academy (GATA). This academy has been premised on the private–public partnership model and the intervention remains a priority for industry stakeholders.

Owing to the growing investments by the original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the sector, there is a need to increase the industry skills pipeline to ensure that the requisite skills are on hand to support the proposed growth targets.

Despite the recent investments, the South African automotive sector remains fragile and threatened, largely owing to significant automotive manufacturing decisions, such as model allocation to countries and volume allocations that are made internationally. This threat requires the automotive industry and government to collaborate closely for a purposefully customised intervention.

The site of the GATA, which has been contributed by car manufacturer Nissan South Africa (SA), is currently being refurbished and significantly expanded to suit the purpose of an automotive training academy.

The construction, management, operations and maintenance of the training centre will be undertaken by the AIDC and property devel- opment, investment and manage- ment company Supplier Park Development Company – the two subsidiaries of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency.

The training academy is expected to train about 1 000 learners a year on the various offered programmes. The GATA, for which the AIDC broke ground in November 2012, is still under construction at Rosslyn, in Pretoria.

“This project forms part of vehicle manufacturer, Nissan SA’s plan to invest about R1.5-billion in South Africa and create a significant amount of direct and indirect jobs in the automotive industry’s supply chain,” says Manilal. A further R1.2-billion is expected to be invested by the greater component value chain.

Manilal adds that the GATA will be managed by the AIDC and Nissan SA and will cost about R100-million. This will cover refurbishment costs, furniture and equipment costs for classrooms and a technical training building, as well as the purchase of a training simulator.

“Besides Nissan SA’s contribu- tion, the Gauteng provincial government will be the lead funder of the project, while partial funding will be secured from The Jobs Fund, which is run by the Devel- opment Bank of Southern Africa on behalf of the National Treas- ury,” notes Manilal.

The GATA is a collaborative effort by government and the automotive industry to overcome skills shortages, while broadening a new skills base to benefit vehicle assemblers, automotive component manufacturers, the dealer and aftersales support network, as well as informal mechanical repairers, he says.

The existing land and buildings that will host the GATA comprise two separate buildings – one for theory training and the other for practical technical training. The theory building is being furnished and will be completed by June, while the practical-training building will take longer to refurbish and equip, owing to the training equipment installations and will, therefore, be completed by July, explains Manilal.

The GATA training programmes include training in mechatronics, autotronics, programmable logic controller programming and computer numerically controlled programming, welding, spray painting, vehicle assembly and vehicle aftermarket services and maintenance.

Equipment, including a fully functional automotive spray-painting booth, a vehicle body-welding booth, a vehicle assembly production-line simulator, an autotronics lab and a mechatronics lab, will be housed at the GATA.

A number of other projects that are being undertaken by the AIDC to ensure that it continues to be industry’s partner and strengthen private–public partnerships, notes Manilal. The most recent initiative is the AIDC’s partnership with inter- national global component supplier MSSL RSA.

MSSL RSA will provide an inter- national opportunity for the Gauteng youth to participate in a United Arab Emirates workplace programme. The programme entails sending a pilot group of five females, between the ages of 18 and 25, for two years to Sharaj, in Dubai, for training. This pilot group, which left this month will be followed by an additional 90 participants during the year.

The partnership with MSSL RSA marks the importance of the relationship between the Gauteng government and a strategic partner in the auto- motive sector, says Manilal.

The AIDC will monitor the programme over the next few months to determine how the programme increases the number of learners in future as part of a regular international training workplace programme.

Another key focus area for the AIDC is Supplier Competitive- ness and, currently, the AIDC is undertaking an industry competitiveness benchmarking study and is linking its current competitiveness improvement programmes with that of the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa to ensure resource efficiency and cleaner production in the automotive industry.

Meanwhile, the AIDC has also partnered with Shanghai-based international organisation Noppen, to host the South Africa Automotive Summit 2013, which will take place between February 27 and 28, at the Protea Hotel, in Midrand, Johannesburg.

The summit will focus on sharing information and collaborative partnerships between the public and private sectors. Over the two days, international and local delegates will delibe- rate and discuss the investment climate, the opportunities and partnerships in South Africa as well as Africa, and the policy framework that guides business in South Africa with a specific focus on Gauteng.

The summit will provide the province with the opportunity to showcase its value proposition and initiatives that meet government’s objectives. This is in line with the national objectives of doubling the production of vehicles to 1.2-million by 2020.

A diverse range of speakers, including local and international speakers, will discuss best practices, government policy and the impact and implementation of the various policies that guide the investment climate in South Africa and, thus, realising the objective of making Gauteng the manufacturing hub in the automotive sector.