Innovation skills to benefits residents

Kwatsaduza – Small business owners in metal fabrication will be trained in operating high tech machinery and how to improve their businesses by the Ekurhuleni East College from next year.

The programme is part of an initiative by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the innovation and technology department to help improve small businesses in the townships.

Nontombi Marule from the DTI says they identified the needs in 2013 when the Department of Education requested that they infuse small businesses with skills in teaching and training.

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“We were mandated to come up with programmes which will help support innovations and bring high tech instrumentation.

“We also identified that most of the small business owners could not afford the machinery involved or have the skills and knowledge to operate them. We decided to offer them the skills to operate them,” she explains.

Nontombi says through the initiative they also train the small business owners on how to successfully run their businesses.

“In this way we know that those benefiting from the programme will be able to improve the township economy by also creating employment opportunities.

“We started the pilot phase two years ago in which three TVET Colleges, which include Ekurhuleni East College, Lovedale TVET College in Eastern College and Sekhukhune TVET in Limpopo,” she further explains.

Sipho Nkosi from Ekurhuleni East College says they are happy to be one of the colleges identified to offer the training.

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“We have collected data from those who were interested in the undergoing the training.

“Access will not only be given to those who were previously trained in the field but those who are running their small businesses in the community.

“A notice will be made public through the community platforms on when the programme will be functional,” he says.