The Artisan Training Institute (ATI) recently announced that its training programme for technical and vocational education and training institutions (TVETs), will continue for another year, and that the initiative has been broadened to include Lesotho and Swaziland as well.

The programme, which is run in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, originally commenced in 2017, with the aim to upskill educators at South African TVETs.

When talking to Sean Jones, MD of the ATI, he explains that youth unemployment remains a critical issue and that the development of vocational skills, and artisan qualifications specifically, hold the potential to alleviate this issue substantially. “Artisanal qualifications have proven to provide fast access to the job market, better remuneration, and promising future career prospects,” says Jones.

“A critical cornerstone of empowering our youth to be job-ready however, is to ensure that they are trained in accordance with industry requirements and standards. This in turn calls for the educators at our TVETS to be upskilled as well, which is the very inspiration behind this partnership,” says Jones.

According to Ariane Campbell, associate programme manager at the Mastercard Foundation, “Providing comprehensive skills training and supporting transitions to meaningful employment for economically disadvantaged young people is at the core of the Foundation’s work.”

As a result of this initiative, trainers at TVETs are already experiencing a positive improvement.

Says Tumisang Mokgosi, an electrical trade trainer at Taletso TVET College in the North West Province who was trained in just one of the disciplines covered by the programme, “The training was fruitful for us as educators and also for our learners and colleagues, as it integrates with the national curriculum of both Report 191 and NC Electrical Engineering. It also assists us in conducting our practicals at college level better.”

“Rollout for 2018 has already commenced and we are excited to state that our target is to have completed 162 training interventions at public training institutions across SA, Lesotho and Swaziland by the end of the year,” says Richard Lewis, head: strategy at the ATI. The training is offered at no cost to the TVETS, and institutions who wish to obtain more information, may contact: LErasmus@artisantraining.co.za.