In 2012, the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB) established a Maritime Institute of Sectoral Occupational Excellence. Dubbed ‘Maritime Centre of Excellence’ (MCoE), the institute facilitates the development of skills in trades, occupations and SMMEs in the environment of ocean and coastal shipping, inland waterways, aquaculture, port activities, maritime security, boat building, boat repair and associated landbased activities, with a focus on youth and previously disadvantaged communities to be beneficiaries of these skills.

The MCoE works closely with various Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) including the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA), Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (MerSETA), as well as Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA) along with a number of accredited training service providers and is a registered ICDL training and assessment
centre.

The MCoE institute at KZNSB continues to offer remarkable training programmes, having qualified over 1500 learners in less than 48 months since its inception. Radebe commented “The culture of excellence is embodied in everything we do.”

EIGHT NEW BOAT SKIPPERS RECENTLY TRAINED

The Maritime Centre of Excellence together with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) recently trained eight new boat skippers who all successfully went through a rigorous training programme. The trainees were from the community of Enkovukeni village, at Umhlabauyalingana in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The SAMSA initiative, supported and driven by the Department of Transport, to alleviate the plight of a northern KwaZulu-Natal community forever swamped in water, has moved yet another significant step forward. If all goes well, these boat skipper trainees should receive their skippers’ licenses soon.

The training, conducted by the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board along with SAMSA, is part of a now much broader community initiative launched to initially provide water based transport to the Enkovukeni community, a village situated on a thin 5km waterlogged stretch of land forming part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park â€" South Africa’s first world heritage site in the north of KwaZulu-Natal.

Enkovukeni is practically an island, stretching from Bhanga Neck to Kosi Bay Mouth with the Indian Ocean on one side and the Kosi Bay lake system on the other. The area is virtually only accessible by foot or make shift canoes, which residents currently use.

The initiative is part of the Umhlabuyalingana Outreach Project, which was initially proposed as a Nelson Mandela International Day project by SAMSA, the latter who partnered with other stakeholders to accelerate delivery of services and bring immediate and long term relief to the community. Private sector partners include Dormac, Subtech, Smith Amandla Marine, Unicorn, SA Shipyards, MIASA, FBI Communications, Viking Lifesaving and Surfing Equipment.

In September 2016 Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Sindisiswe Chikunga led the formal launch of the initiative at the village and at which event she handed over the first of four boats earmarked for donation to the community. The newly trained boat skippers, all previously unemployed youths from the community will once formally licensed, be charged with the responsibility of manning and managing the boats to be deployed within the community, said SAMSA Curriculum Development Specialist, Mr Mzwamandla Sosibo.

Sosibo said SAMSA was pleased that significant progress was being achieved with the initiative, but especially with regards to providing water based transport for the community as this remained the main challenge to address all other problems.

Mr Vincent Zulu, KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board Education Project Specialist, said the Enkovukeni initiative constituted an example of the nature of benefits communities across the country could elicit from the national Operation Phakisa (Ocean Economy) initiative launched in 2014.

Of the eight skipper trainees, he said they had an equal obligation to ensure that contribution made to their Enkovukeni community fully benefitted everyone and that projects initiated were zealously monitored and fully supported by the community for long term sustainability.

The eight boat skipper trainees said they were “absolutely elated” to have been included in the programme and vowed to give it their all to ensure the programme is sustainable.