STUDENT DESIGN The Design@50 studio assists jewellery designers in attaining the required skillset to enter the industry
Graduates of Germiston-based commercial jewellery design school Design@50 were honoured during a formal ceremony in May.
Design@50 is located on the premises of precious metals refiner Rand Refinery. The school forms part of the Jewellery Manufacturing Precinct (JMP), a cornerstone of the OR Tambo International Airport industrial development zone (IDZ), an initiative of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA).
The event was attended by representatives of various industry stakeholders, including the Mining Qualifications Authority, the State Diamond Trader, the Jewellery Council of South Africa and De Beers, among others.
An exciting prospect for new students is the JMP, currently under construction at the Gauteng IDZ and due to start operations by the end of the current financial year. The JMP training programme is aimed at bolstering jewellery manufacturing and design in the province, thereby attracting international role-players who contribute new skills and new technologies, as well as potential global markets, to tap into the South African jewellery market.
The JMP assists in executing the country’s beneficiation strategy, with increased emphasis on the jewellery fabrication value chain, and enhances the support provided for new entrants in the industry by providing skills development opportunities. It is also working towards eliminating entry barriers for previously disadvantaged people.
This initiative of the GGDA also supports the achievement of economic development goals through increasing employment opportunities, as well as foreign direct investment, and the establishment of the Design@50 training programme for candidates with a background in jewellery design and manufacturing is one of its objectives.