Central SA
Motheo TVET College artisan academy to accommodate 1 500 students─── ZENANDE MPAME 14:42 Tue, 05 Mar 2024
“Through this academy, we seek to achieve artisans for our country.”
An artisan academy has been opened at the Motheo TVET College in Bloemfontein to train and qualify artisans and also to provide financial support to those who are unable to afford costs associated with artisan qualifications.
It is a centre of excellence that provides extensive training programmes to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in their chosen fields.
The country produces 20,000 artisans each year and with this new academy, they are aiming to produce 30,000 by 2030. The Department of Higher Education and Training Director General Nkosinathi Sishi said there was only one trade test centre in Pretoria and now they were opening another one in the province.
The opening of the academy on Friday. Picture: Free State Provincial Government/Facebook
“Based on an average pass rate of 70% for the apprentices, it is estimated that 252 artisans will be produced per year from the academy alone. This number is expected to increase to more than 300 artisans per year from 2026 onwards, said Sishi.”
Various stalls were exhibiting at the opening of the academy. Picture: Free State Department of Education/Facebook
At the opening, information was shared with learners, educators, and youth. The department’s institutions such as SETA’s, NSFAS, and sister colleges were part of the opening.
Programs offered at the academy are electrician, boilermaker, welder, solar and renewable energy, hairdressing, beauty therapy, and jewellery manufacturing.
Learners from schools around the city were invited to the opening. Picture: Free State Provincial Government/Facebook
The academy has 96 rooms in its hostels, with a capacity of 372 students per hostel, computer rooms that can accommodate 480 students, and there are three workshop buildings, each with 12 workshops and a trade test centre.
The Director General promised the department would dedicate R1 billion towards establishing a Community Education and Training College adjacent to this establishment. “Much more work needs to be done. But we are grateful to our SETA's who are playing a major role in achieving this dream.”
