The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) recently hosted a National Scarce Skills Forum with a focus on the Engineering Faculty to address the skills shortage in the industry.
Facilitated by the Dean of the Engineering Faculty, Dr Oswald Franks, the forum sparked interesting debate around the issue of scarce skills and skills development.
According to Dr Franks the forum acted as an information sharing session where the CPUT can receive feedback from stakeholders. It also acted as a useful tool to communicate with partners to update them about the worthy contribution the CPUT has and can make in the plight against scarce engineering skills.
Mr Gwede Mantashe, Chairperson of the Technical Task Team of the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) was invited to render the keynote address.
JIPSA is a skills project led by a committee of key cabinet ministers, business leaders, trade unionists and education and training providers. It was developed as part of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, created by the South African government to reduce unemployment by half by 2014.
Mr Mantashe spoke about the need to create work, develop skills and deal with pertinent issues like poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS and economic growth.
The lack of skilled artisans was one of the concerns raised in the forum by numerous members of the audience. Mr Mantashe said amongst the focus areas JIPSA has identified are artisan and technical skills, with priority to those needs for infrastructure development, engineering and planning skills for the ‘network industries’ like transport, communication and energy.
In a panel discussion, panel members, Mr Mantashe, Vice-Chancellor Prof Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Anthony Staak, Ms Shirley Levendal and Mr Brian Forbes, Heads of the Co-operative Education Department, responded to questions and issues raised by the audience which included representatives of government, industry, commerce, SETA’s, staff members and alumni.
Prof Mazwi-Tanga said the CPUT, as the only university of technology in the Western Cape and the greater Northern and Southern Cape, is well placed to rise to the challenge of addressing the skills shortage in the engineering fields and in the other areas government has identified.
CAPTION: Dr Oswald Franks (Dean of the Engineering Faculty) Prof Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga (CPUT Vice Chancellor) and Mr Gwede Mantashe (Chairperson :Technical Task Team, Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition [JIPSA]).
Click on the link below for a full copy of Mr Mantashe's speech.
FASTRACKING JIPSA: DELIVER CRITICAL SKILLS, BY GWEDE MANTASHE
Written by CPUT News
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