The Durban South Training Centre officially re-opened on new premises with bigger facilities on Tuesday, 15 February. This after the institution was looted and destroyed during the 2021 July unrest.
The re-opening of the centre offers opportunities to 122 learners who form part of the 2022 intake through various skills development programmes offered by the Prospecton based refinery, SAPREF. Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu’s spokesperson, Kwazi Mthethwa, said the learners will go through a learnership that covers three NQF Levels.
“In each level, they spend six months acquiring theoretical knowledge at the Centre and the other six months with host companies for practical experiential learning. In partnership with SAPREF, the institution also identifies learners with potential at school level and exposing them to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) opportunities,” he said.
He added that the chemical operations learnership, apprenticeship in electrical engineering, mechanical fitting and instrumentation are also offered to the youth of the Durban South by SAPREF.
In his keynote address, MEC Mshengu commended the work that SAPREF is doing in the skills development space. “This initiative is in line with the National Development Plan to produce 30 000 artisans by 2030,” he said.
