Mechanical Technology May 2016

⎪ Special report ⎪

MBSA Learning Academy launched

On the same day that Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) released its 2015/2016 annual results, it also officially launched a R130-million state- of-the-art Learning Academy to boost skills in the Eastern Cape region.

M ercedes-Benz South Africa launched its state of the art Mercedes-Benz Learn- ing Academy (MBLA) on arch 17. 2016. The Academy is a culmination of a R130-million joint investment by MBSA and the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund, which was signed in 2014. The grant agreement signed by the two parties has seen the transformation of the MBSA Technical Training Centre into a fully-fledged and world-class Learning Academy. The MBLA is des- tined to be a strategic service provider in MBSA’s holistic approach to further education and training with an ultimate objective of helping the region in the con- tinuing fight against high unemployment. It was in July 1981 when the MBSA Technical Training Centre first opened, as one of the first multi-racial training facilities in the country. For more than three decades, the centre has been MBSA’s think-tank and the main feeder of the technical workforce for MBSA’s East London plant. During this time, the MBSA Technical Training Centre made a significant con- tribution in affording opportunities to people who would otherwise not have received technical training. In the pro- cess, a continuous feed of artisans into the East London manufacturing plant was ensured. The pool of skilled personnel that has been provided by the then Technical Training Centre have placed the East London plant amongst the best, allowing it to be a valued contributor in the global production network of Mercedes-Benz cars. It is also such training initiatives that have contributed to the plant’s proud heritage and history of almost seventy years in the country. The centre, which has now been transformed into a Learning Academy, currently boasts some 180 learners and is expanding its numbers in order to have surplus capacity as well as to better pro-

Students undergoing introductory shop floor skills training, which targets unemployed school/ college leavers.

vide artisans for the broader community. This is over and above the company’s internal needs. “The Mercedes-Benz Learning Academy aims to be the most advanced automotive training facility in the coun- try. We will do this by continuing to provide high-quality technical training, which will produce skilled artisans in our continuing bid to curb unemployment, particularly amongst the youth in the region. This is being done in partnership with government and its initiatives for job creation. Through the academy we also aim to provide our people with a sense of purpose by giving them confidence in what they do,” says Mercedes-Benz CEO and executive director for manufacturing, Arno van der Merwe. “Education and skills development is of paramount importance to the business and the sustainability of our company and the communities in which we oper- ate. To this end the company has over many years showed its commitment to participate in the national collaborative effort to ensure skills transfer and job creation for workers in the automotive sector – not only for our plant but for the broader industry,” adds Van der Merwe. As such, the joint agreement with the Jobs Fund came at the time when the rapid advancement of technologies had placed enormous training demands on both the MBSA manufacturing plant and the industry in the region, exposing a wid- ening gap of technical training expertise. “The Jobs Fund partnered with

Mercedes-Benz South Africa because the project satisfied two critical criteria for us. First, the intervention would respond to a specific need in the labour market and it would improve the pipe- line of appropriately skilled artisanal labour that could be deployed, not only at Mercedes-Benz South Africa but also within the broader labour market. Second and more importantly, Mercedes-Benz South Africa also guarantees employment contracts for many of those completing the training programme. The Jobs Fund is appreciative of the positive collaboration it has shared with Mercedes-Benz South Africa,” says Najwah Allie-Edries, head of the Jobs Fund. In the immediate future, the MBLA aims to be an externally accessible training facility that will offer trade tests, training and, essentially, placement of unemployed persons to the industry, thus bridging the gap between jobseekers and industry. Accordingly, the MBLA has increased the current training staff complement from 10 to 14 technical instructors. Plans are also in place to increase the number of trades that are currently facilitated by its accredited Trade Test Centre to include all major trades, includ- ing: automotive electrician; millwright; fitter and turner; motor mechanic; and mechatronic technician. There are three categories of trainings currently offered by the MBLA. These are the shop floor skills training targeting unemployed school/college leavers for

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Mechanical Technology — May 2016