Engineering and construction company Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa has officially opened its Technical Training Academy, housed in the group’s service centre in Chloorkop, Johannesburg.

The R28-million, 1 300 m2 training facility is equipped with a 831 m2 workshop, which houses equipment such as lathes, milling machines, and hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical simulators, in addition to all the practical models required for the technical training, while the 483 m2 first floor is furnished with high-end tools to conduct, simulate and annotate certain principles and circuitry within the classroom environment.

The academy, three years in the making, aims to train and upskill young candidates for the company’s own workshop and site team environments, as well as feed into the current skills requirements of industry broadly.

“Our aim is to offer first-class technical training programmes to raise the technical proficiencies and standards of our industry and to set further benchmarks for excellence on the African continent,” says Thyssenkrupp sub-Saharan Africa CEO Philipp Nellessen.

“We want to develop exceptional skills in Africa for Africa,” he told attendees at the official opening ceremony early this month.

The academy aims to train 30 to 35 technicians a year, with plans in place to expand the training centre in the next three years to accommodate up to 120 students.

The facility also aims to foster entrepreneurship and economic self-sufficiency.

“We will provide training beyond our own needs. Thyssenkrupp sees it as its duty and responsibility to make a general investment in South Africa’s young talent,” adds global CEO Marcel Fasswald, noting that Africa’s youth are the future of the continent and a “major untapped resource”.

The sector education and training authorities-accredited customised programmes – developed in-house to Thyssenkrupp standards and based on a German dual-education system – comprise a blend of elearning, classroom training and practical and theoretical experience.

The academy was officially opened by Higher Education and Training Minister Naledi Pandor, who lauded the efforts of Thyssenkrupp to equip young people with skills and competences that will help them find jobs or create their own enterprises.

“The partnership between technical and vocational education and training colleges and the Thyssenkrupp Technical Training Academy is therefore most encouraging,” she said.