By Karen Pretorius
THE people of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats are to benefit from a skills development initiative being planned for the city.
The City of Cape Town has commissioned a feasibility study into the possibility of building a new Further Education and Training (FET) college to serve these areas by 2007.
Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha have been earmarked for special attention in terms of the Urban Renewal Programme launched by President Thabo Mbeki in 2001. The two areas are home to a third of the city's residents.
Mayoral committee member for social and economic development and tourism, Clifford Sithonga, says skills development is important to meet the needs of the economy. "We have a lot of people with matric and some who dropped out of technikons. They can make use of the facility to acquire skills," he said.
It is envisaged that between 3, 000 and 4, 000 students would be accommodated at the college, which will be set up in partnership with the City and provincial government. The college is being planned on a skills training model used for the southern areas of Masiphumelele, Ocean View and Red Hill.
This model, called the Noordhoek Technopreneurial Training Programme (NTTP), boasts an 80% job placement rate. NTTP is part of the False Bay FET College and offers courses such as ceramics, clothing production, bricklaying and computer training.
The chief executive officer of False Bay College, Cassie Kruger, said the proposed college should not perpetuate the separate development of the past.
"It is important to build a campus where there would be integration between the areas of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha," he explained. He said that more funding would be secured next year to make the college a reality.
One of the people who benefited from the initiative in Noordhoek is 41-year old Gertrude Maweyi, who is now a budding entrepreneur. She completed a ceramics course in 2003 and set up Bulis Pottery, producing beads and bowls.
Before she started her business, Ms Maweyi was a domestic worker. "I would encourage other people to go for skills training. At the moment I also need more skills," she said.
Although education is not a core function of local government, the City of Cape Town has a target to initiate 10 000 learnerships annually by 2008.
Source: BuaNews
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