Training centres receive EU cash

By Mthobeli Mxotwa

EAST LONDON -- The Eastern Cape yesterday became the first province to benefit from the R50 million Recognition of Prior Learning project driven by the Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta).

The project is funded by the European Union.

Ceta chief executive Themba Dlamini handed over cheques of R40000 each to the Siyakha Training Centre in Queenstown and the Wild Coast Training Centre in Umtata for start-up purposes.

Dlamini said there would be five centres in the Eastern Cape and in each of the eight other provinces.

Each centre would receive
R450000 in total.

The five centres would be launched next month.

Dlamini said Ceta was arranging for the establishment of a training centre here.

Discussions were under way with the technical colleges, emerging training providers and an established training provider, he said.

The other centres would be set up at the East Cape Training Centre in Port Elizabeth and in southern Transkei.

Each training centre would admit 202 candidates whose claimed previous learning experience in a building skill would be formally assessed.

Dlamini said Ceta's project, which would take three years to complete, would concentrate on building-related skills such as bricklaying and carpentry.

Dlamini emphasised that the Recognition of Prior Learning was meant to take on board those who had learnt and knew a building trade informally, but did not have the necessary certificates to prove it.

In this way, these people could be employed under circumstances equivalent to those of their formally-qualified counterparts.

The target was set at 1 010 candidates for each province with the emphasis on women and small contractors, said Dlamini.