EThekwini Municipality will facilitate the training of 10 000 youth as artisans over the next three years. The estimated total cost of the project is R742.1 million which includes tuition costs, monthly stipends, material and project management.

Youth will be trained in the following trades: diesel and petrol mechanics, welding, fitting and turning and electrical maintenance. They will be enrolled at a trade testing centre to get a full artisan qualification.

There are also options for lower skills programmes that have lower entry requirements but will also have a trade test. These include bricklaying, plumbing, carpentry and painting.

The duration and cost of the course depends on the training programming to be undertaken.

To source trainees, adverts will be placed in various local newspapers outlining the requirement for each field of study and the number of spaces available for enrolment. Sizakala Centres, libraries and Municipal
offices will be used for dropping off applications.

Selection will be done on the basis of applicants meeting the stipulated requirements which include being younger than 36, a resident of eThekwini and being unemployed. The project will be in line with the Employment Equity Strategy with 60 percent of the intake being women.

City Manager Sibusiso Sithole said they wanted people who would be diligent and committed to their studies to apply.

Once their studies were complete, one group would be further trained in entrepreneurship by the Business Support Unit and helped to register their own cooperatives.

“The rest of the artisans would be made available to units for possible employment within the Municipality with the normal recruitment policy still applying,” he said.

Sithole said they were speaking to private businesses about possible partnerships as it was important for the qualified artisans to be absorbed into the job market. Dumile Cele, the chief executive of the Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the municipality’s executive decision to go ahead with the Artisan Development Project, which first came before the council in February.

“This is definitely a welcome move, especially as there is a shortage of skills,” she said.