Capital Equipment News June 2018

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Volvo Group Southern Africa recently welcomed President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, to its Volvo Trucks assembly plant in Durban.

people gain the confidence, capabilities and exposure to succeed in the working environment. “That is why we have prioritised the development of pathways into work for young people. This includes the Youth Employment Service initiative, which we launched together with our social partners in March,” he says. “The initiative, which provides work experience opportunities for young people on a scale never before seen in this country, is a result of effective collaboration between business, government and labour. It demonstrates the willingness of business to be part of finding solutions to youth unemployment,” says Ramaphosa. Christensson says, as a global company, with the commitment to the success of South Africa, Volvo Group Southern Africa also supports government’s initiative to focus on youth development as is envisioned in initiatives such as the proposed Youth Employment Service. “It is about creating more opportunities for the youth to grow, develop, learn and ultimately prosper,” says Christensson. Christensson says the company is ready and willing to take hands with government to identify and create more opportunities for the youth, to start rebuilding the social fabric and economic transformation of the South African labour market. “As a global company, we are certainly proud of our business successes here in South Africa. But, we are even more proud of the difference we believe we are making by investing in skills development, youth development, and giving back to the industry and the country as a whole,” concludes Christensson. ❂

Volvo Group Southern Africa is planning to invest R25-million into skills development during 2018.

company. “As Volvo Group Southern Africa, we are proud to say that we have been able to actively engage with local communities to implement numerous initiatives where community needs are met by our unique assets and expertise, to maximise the value created for society as a whole,” says Christensson. Shared responsibility According to President Ramaphosa, the greatest challenge to social development in South Africa, and to economic development, is the high rate of youth unemployment. He applauds Volvo for making youth development such an integral part of its social investment programme. “We all share the responsibility to develop the skills of young South Africans and ensure that

these skills are suited to the needs of our economy, now and into the future,” he says. President Ramaphosa is also of the view that the basic education system needs to retain more learners through to matric to improve the quality of the foundational education they receive. He further reiterates that there is need to ensure greater access to universities and colleges for those from poor and working class families. “The phased introduction of free higher education from this year promises to contribute to skills revolution in the country,” he says. “This needs to be accompanied by a concerted effort to involve the private sector in supporting and designing curricula, particularly at TVET colleges and in certain university faculties.” He says this will ensure that young

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