The Rustenburg Rapid Transport project, officially launched in July this year by the Rustenberg’s executive mayor, Councillor Mpho Khunou, and deputy minister of transport, Mr Jeremy Cronin will commence construction during 2012. It is anticipated that bus services will start in 2015. More than half a million residents and some 200,000 passengers per day will benefit, including a predominant mining workforce and a thriving inner city – and so will the unemployed.
Unemployment amongst youths in South Africa currently sits at around 50%, and this, together with the skills shortage crisis, it is placing an increasing burden on the country’s economy. Paradoxically, recent graduates find it difficult to find employment as they have no experience in the workplace.

The Rustenburg Rapid Transport project, a public transport initiative for the fastest growing region in South Africa, has launched the pioneering Transport Rustenburg Incubation Programme (TRIP). The programme will select and train six unemployed graduates for three years, enabling them to run the public transport system of Rustenburg once in operation.

“BRT systems are new to South Africa and the TRIP training curriculum is therefore specifically designed to enable the graduates to play a productive role in the management and operations of the RRT from first day of their employment by the Rustenburg Local Municipality (RLM),” says Dr Johan Bosman, who will be running the programme.