Deputy Minister honoured

Printing SA held a prestigious gala dinner at Gallagher Convention Centre on 8 September to honour Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana with a Gutenberg Award for his initiative known as The Decade of the Artisan.

The night was graced by numerous speakers, including the president of Printing SA, Stephen van de Walt; CEO Printing SA Steven Thobela; and Advocate Ismail Molale.

Thobela addressed guests about the journey of the company from 1911, when it was still named Master Printers Association, to the present day.

Thobela stated that the company is focused on training more artisans with the aim of improving the economy and boosting trade in the country through the development of skills and expertise.

The Decade of the Artisan initiative has a large focus on promoting trade in South Africa. The initiative was started during the first tenure of Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande, but became the ‘baby’ of Manana, who has grown this initiative.

The award was accepted by Molale on behalf of Manana who was not present due to Parliamentary responsibilities. Molale said the vision behind the initiative is to build a strong, productive and competitive economy. Hence the initiative seeks to encourage the youth to realise that the country rests on the shoulders of artisans, as well as to improve participation of young people in a trade.

Printing SA identified the importance of the initiative and saw it fit to award the man behind its success. “Printing SA just recently started a skills pool, opening the door to young people to join their artisan training programme and change the negative attitude towards being an artisan,” said Thobela.

The artisan training focuses on both theory and practical lessons. The printing company is now currently visiting more schools and addressing more pupils in the aim of encouraging people to become artisans while they are still in the process of deciding what they want to do when they finish school.

Thobela said the company is trying to reach young people from all walks of life and can personally vouch for being an artisan, having come from the same background.

The CEO highlighted another programme aimed at equipping rural women to become entrepreneurs, which has many success stories. These rural women are trained for two weeks on various skills.

Stephen van der Walt, the president of Printing SA revealed that artisans contribute R55 billion to the South African GDP, stressing the need for more artisans in the country.

He said the company is trying to attract more women, and initiatives to do so have been very successful in KwaZulu-Natal, but they battle to get the same reaction in the Western Cape.

The challenge in recruiting women was identified more than a decade ago and is being addressed.