SPECIAL FEATURE Roof maintenance specialists Topps Group South Africa has developed a detailed training module where roofers and waterproofers can attain qualifications while learning about the characteristics of the products they will apply to roofing surfaces. The programme is delivered by the company that applies the roofing products after their staff have been trained by Topps. Volkswagen South Africa has several skills and training programmes which include the Commercial Trainee Programme, the Graduate Trainees, Further Education Training and Wanderjahre programmes. In the motor manufacturer’s home town of Uitenhage, Volkswagen has five learning academies. Open to employees and suppliers, the academies’ programmes are SETA-accredited. and offer a range of courses available through workshops, exercises, e-learning or on-the-job-training.
of specialisation or to understand new developments in a particular field. Sometimes an employer will ask CPUT to structure a course for a group of employees, for example, in ICT. These courses do not earn candidates diplomas, but may be used to gain credits. Traditional universities are also aware of the need to align their courses and research programmes with the needs of the economy. There are three World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centres at UWC and the Centre of Excellence in Food Security (with Pretoria University) is funded by the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology. Biotechnology and food security come together in the Plant Biotechnology Research group at UWC, which studies ways of developing crops that can resist drought. This kind of focus on specific challenges facing society in South Africa is an example of universities working to make their research relevant. The University of Cape Town is offering a course in Health Innovation that encourages talented young South Africans to find solutions to the country’s health problems. Another UCT degree that tackles a specific challenge faced in the South African economy is a master’s in Sustainable Mineral Resource Development. Private colleges such as MANCOSA (Management College of Southern Africa) often specialise in particular fields. In this case, a range of certificates, diplomas and degrees in business, commerce and administration is presented at five sites around South Africa.
Higher education With the inauguration of the Sol Plaatje University (Northern Cape) and the University of Mpumalanga, every province now has its own university, of which there are 26 in all. The Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University has also opened in Gauteng. There are three categories of university: universities offering only degrees and post-graduate courses with a strong research component, comprehensive universities offering a mix of degrees and diplomas and universities of technology, formerly known as technikons. There are also 87 registered and 27 provisionally registered private higher education institutions. Universities of technology have a specific focus on educating young people in fields that will enhance the country’s economic performance. Some of the courses can be very demanding. Among the new courses on offer at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) are diplomas in geomatics (one of South Africa’s most sought-after skills to aid surveyors, town planners and civil engineers), clothing and textile technology, and horticulture and landscape architecture. CPUT also offers a range of short courses, allowing employed people the opportunity to get up to speed in an area SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2018
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