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Education & Skills Development News

VWSA provides 560 work opportunities under the YES programme

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 6th March 2019 Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has created work opportunities for 560 unemployed youth through the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The group began a 12-month employment period with VWSA on March 1. →

Virtual reality emerging as a mainstream skills-development tool

By: Simone Liedtke 1st March 2019 Virtual Reality (VR) has hitherto been associated largely with the gaming industry. But as rates of digital penetration rise and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) increases the demand new skills sets, the technology is also becoming a mainstream business and skills-development tool.... →

BBD Steel targeting automotive and mining sectors

By: Jessica Oosthuizen 1st March 2019 Steel supplier BBD Steel aims to expand its footprint by targeting the mining and automotive sectors directly, says BBD Steel business development director Gwen Mahuma. The company, which is 100% women-owned and managed, is located in Rosslyn, Pretoria, and, although already well-established in... →

STEEL SECTOR Steel is an extremely competitive industry and the local industry is facing many challenges

Women have only three-quarters of men’s legal rights, affecting work prospects

By: Sane Dhlamini 27th February 2019 If women had equal opportunities to reach their full potential, the world would not only be fairer, it would be prosperous, said World Bank Group interim president Kristalina Georgieva. In its newly released index titled Women, Business and the Law 2019: A Decade of Reform, the World Bank... →

Labour broking not a dying breed

By: Halima Frost 22nd February 2019 Although the temporary employment sector has been under pressure over some years it has now reached a level they are regarded as legitimate for sectors in an open economy. The industry continues to play a significant role in sectors of the economy including the Constructional Engineering... →

LABOUR LINEUP Labour broking is still a viable option for many short-term projects

Now is the time to focus on Industry 4.0 – CEA chairperson

By: Shannon de Ryhove 22nd February 2019 With 2019 ushering in new executive leadership at employer and employee representative association, the Constructional Engineering Association of South Africa (CEA), chairperson Rajen Govender believes that it is the ideal time to focus on the association and industry’s readiness for the Fourth... →

CEA chairperson Rajen Govender speaking about the future of the association and the impact of Industry 4.0 on the metals and engineering industry. Camerawork and Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Promising growth in construction sector brings hope for 2019

By: Halima Frost 22nd February 2019 Despite the contribution of the construction sector to local economic activity being inconsistent, and having decreased significantly over the years, Constructional Engineering Association (CEA) executive director Anthony Boy is hopeful that there will be an upturn in investments in the sector... →

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Anthony Boy and Louis Breckenridge speak of their hopes for the future

Unregistered HVAC practitioners still a threat to industry – Saracca

By: Cameron Mackay 22nd February 2019 Despite improvement in the number of people who are obtaining training and qualifications to become registered refrigeration gas practitioners, the number of air conditioner installers without an authorised refrigeration gas practitioner registration licence, or with a fraudulent certification,... →

Photo by Hot Mustard
VITAL QUALIFICATIONS There are many employment opportunities for those trained and certified practitioners who are compliant

Retrenchments at South32’s Hillside smelter could affect up to 500 jobs – Solidarity

By: Nadine James 19th February 2019 Trade union Solidarity on Tuesday said it had received a retrenchment notice from South32’s Hillside aluminium smelter, in Richards Bay. The trade union stated that the retrenchment process could impact the lives of up to 30 000 people and, consequently, the entire Richards Bay area. →

Don't trample on workers, Cosatu pleads in march to Parliament

By: News24Wire 19th February 2019 The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) marched to Parliament on Tuesday – the day before Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is set to deliver his maiden Budget – to call for job security and an end to retrenchments. The trade union federation held marches in eight of South Africa's nine... →

Cesa optimistic after president’s address

By: Halima Frost 15th February 2019 The 2019 presidential address of industry body Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) president Neresh Pather, which he delivered with cautious optimism, calling for a transparent drive for the betterment of the sector, sent out a strong message about the future of the civil engineering and... →

NERESH PATHER Procurement policies need to be formulated to embrace the long-term needs of projects

Sanral, Nafbi sign MoU to develop small contractors, accelerate BEE implementation

By: Simone Liedtke 14th February 2019 State-owned South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and nongovernmental organisation, the National African Federated Building Industry (Nafbi), on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at developing small contractors within the South African construction industry.... →

Photo by Simone Liedtke
Sanral CEO Skhumbuzo Macozoma (left) and Nafbi president Aubrey Tshalata (right) during the signing of the MoU agreement on Thursday

South Africa's biggest labour group embarks on nationwide strike

By: Bloomberg 13th February 2019 South Africa’s biggest labor federation will embark on a nationwide protest on Wednesday that will keep teachers, policemen, miners and workers at embattled power utility Eskom away from their posts amid a fourth day of rolling blackouts. The National Union of Mineworkers -- an affiliate of the... →

Marginal decrease in South Africa’s unemployment rate

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 12th February 2019 South Africa’s official unemployment rate decreased marginally by 0.4 of a percentage point to 27.1% in the final three months of 2018, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on Tuesday. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) indicates the number of employed people increased by 149 000 to... →

AI and machine learning expected to boost productivity

By: Schalk Burger 8th February 2019 An increase in the productivity and pace of business processes can be expected owing to the use of artificial intelligence (AII) and machine learning (ML), says cloud service firm Oracle South Africa MD Niral Patel. An autonomous enterprise requires less time for manual tasks and lower chances of... →

Collision solution complements operator activities

By: Khutso Maphatsoe 8th February 2019 Since the launch of its fourth-generation MineAlert collision awareness system (CAS), the core focus of industry leader in fleet management technology in mining, Modular Mining Systems, Inc. (MMSI) is to ensure that the collision awareness solution mitigates false alarms while continuing to... →

Latest technology improves clients’ on-boarding experience

By: Khutso Maphatsoe 8th February 2019 Next month cloud-based platform company Passport 360 will release the latest version of its Passport 360 application (app), which incorporates the latest robotic process automation technology to improve the platform and assist clients to on-board even faster. What exactly does the app do? →

Education challenges remain an impediment to South Africa’s growth

By: Simone Liedtke 7th February 2019 With only moderate expectations for South Africa’s economic growth this year, especially amid political uncertainty ahead of the national elections, part-time lecturer at the Wits School of Governance professor Ebrahim Fakir on Thursday said that, especially in the business environment, “people... →

Social, technological change on the way for built environment industry – CBE

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th February 2019 The Council for the Built Environment (CBE) has continued its efforts to promote and achieve transformation in the built environment sector, but has added technological change to its focus. CBE chairperson Absalom Molobe on Thursday addressed delegates at CBE’s second yearly Transformation Indaba. →

Saice calls for infrastructure review following Hoërskool Driekhoek incident

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 5th February 2019 The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) has expressed its support for an immediate full review of school buildings by competent structural engineers, following the collapse, on February 1, of a concrete slab at Hoërskool Driekhoek, in Vanderbijlpark. Concrete elements of a... →

SA-Tied discusses measures to grow South Africa’s economy, combat inequality

By: Marleny Arnoldi 31st January 2019 Inequality is a massive inhibitor of inclusive economic growth in South Africa and, to lower income inequality, the country needs policies that are inclusive of those at the bottom of the income distribution rank or not economically active at all, Amargi Media CEO and journalist Nikiwe Bikitsha... →

UNTU intends to launch protest action against PRASA, Transport Minister

By: Simone Liedtke 28th January 2019 The United National Transport Union (UNTU) is in the process of launching a Nedlac Section 77 process through its affiliated federation, the Federation of Trade Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), which will allow protest action to force the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and... →

Company focused on agriculture

By: Cameron Mackay 25th January 2019 The agricultural sector is set to become a significant focal point for leading bearings and power transmission product distributor Bearings International (BI) in 2019, as it expands its portfolio of agricultural application products in the first quarter of this year. “There are a few product... →

AGRI-SMART SOLUTION The joint venture will bring the most essential spare products closer to farmers, in order to satisfy their maintenance needs for bearings and agricultural products

Modules finalisation nearing completion

By: Halima Frost 25th January 2019 The South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (Saretec) has taken on the custodian role as the national renewable-energy-sector educator and hopes to have finalised all five occupational certificates of the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Qualification through its collaboration with Manufacturing,... →

HOME BASE Saretec is based at the Cape Peninsular University of Technology

UCT researchers selected for research hubs to address global challenges

By: Sashnee Moodley 24th January 2019 Funding agency United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) have selected University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers to establish research hubs at UK universities, to tackle some of the development challenges facing the world. The hubs offer five... →

CEOs to be more cautious this year as uncertainty, pessimism prevail – PwC

By: Simone Liedtke 22nd January 2019 There are consistent trends in the 2018 and 2019 results of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC’s) annual CEO survey, with global CEOs – including those based in South Africa – plagued by pessimism and uncertainty in the new year. According to the survey, which was released on Monday, caution among CEOs... →

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Africa CEO Dion Shango speaks to Engineering News Online about the 2019 results of the company's annual CEO survey. Video & Editing: Nicholas Boyd

Ramaphosa arrives in Geneva for ILO report launch

By: African News Agency 22nd January 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday morning to launch the International Labour Organization’s (ILO's) Global Commission on the Future of Work Report, his spokesperson Khusela Diko said in a statement. Ramaphosa and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven are... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

President Ramaphosa says Education Lekgotla will focus on improving basic education

By: African News Agency 21st January 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the Education Lekgotla in Boksburg will focus on improving basic education. He said the gathering would look at steps to be taken this year and beyond to make basic education a more effective and efficient platform for the creation of an... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Rosatom invites African students to apply for nuclear studies scholarships in Russia

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th January 2019 Russian nuclear energy corporation Rosatom on Monday announced that applications were open for scholarships for African students to help develop the next generation of African nuclear scientists and engineers. The scholarships fund tuition fees in full and living expenses in part. →

Agri-hub seen as key post-mining-economy jobs driver in west Gauteng

By: Terence Creamer 14th January 2019 An ambitious plan to develop Gauteng’s West Rand into an agri-industrial hub, primarily producing high-value crops for domestic and export markets, is starting to take shape and is expected to be officially launched during the first quarter of 2019. The initiative has been branded ‘Bokamoso Ba... →

Photo by Sibanye-Stillwater
The programme is part of bigger plan to build a sustainable post-mining economy in the West Rand

Home Affairs Committee proposes cell phone ban for DoH staff

By: Sane Dhlamini 14th January 2019 Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs chairperson Hlomani Chauke on Monday called on the Department of Home Affairs (DoH) to consider an outright ban on cell phone usage by front line staff during working hours at all branches. This follows numerous complaints made to the committee from members of... →

OECD, Sars, Treasury sign MoC for taxation collaboration

By: Simone Liedtke 11th January 2019 The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the National Treasury on Friday signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC), in which all parties agreed to continue working together in the area of taxation. The MoC is in place until... →

NUM bemoans nonpayment of salaries to Optimum, Koornfontein employees

By: Simone Liedtke 7th January 2019 The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Monday expressed its dissatisfaction over the nonpayment of employees’ salaries at the Optimum and Koornfontein coal mines for the past two months. NUM members and other workers will be entering their third month without being paid salaries, NUM Highveld... →

Global Business Services incentive to bolster youth employment opportunities

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th January 2019 The Global Business Services (GBS) incentive, which came into effect from January 1, will create employment opportunities for the youth in South Africa, says Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies. He notes that the opportunities will be especially in the areas of medium to high complexity... →

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies

Women on track to earn the same as men – in 202 years

By: Bloomberg 18th December 2018 The good news: The global gender gap has improved, slightly. The reality: Differences in economic opportunity, including pay between men and women, are so vast it’ll take 202 years to fully bridge them, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). The group looks at several measures of equality... →

Odourless treatment process produces energy, creates jobs

By: Cameron Mackay 14th December 2018 A new labour-based upgrade for wastewater management plants and acid mine drainage plants below ground – the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) process – can be used to produce potable water and energy while reducing costs and creating job opportunities, says engineering and... →

HYSON CELLS The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor process is below ground, which allows for natural insulation of the cone structures

Solar PV uptake expected to double

By: Paige Müller 14th December 2018 Energy supply from solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is increasing at a rapid rate in South Africa, with PV grid installation expected to double in the 2018/19 period, says renewable-energy solutions supplier Genesis Eco-Energy director and solar energy association South African Photovoltaic... →

Photo by Creamer Media
NO THREAT POSED The adoption of renewable-energy systems neither poses an immediate nor a significant threat to workers in the local coal industry

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