EThekwini Municipality will facilitate the training of 10 000 youth as artisans over the next three years. The estimated total cost of the project is R742.1 million which includes tuition costs, monthly stipends, materials and project management.

Youth will be trained in the following trades: diesel and petrol mechanics, welding, fitting and turning and electrical maintenance. They will be enrolled at a trade testing centre to get a full artisan qualification.

There are also options for lower skills programmes that have lower entry requirements but will also have a trade test. These include bricklaying, plumbing, carpentry and painting.

Selection will be done on the basis of applicants meeting the stipulated requirements which include being younger than 36, a resident of eThekwini and being unemployed. The project will be in line with the Employment Equity Strategy with 60% of the intake being women.

Once their studies are complete, one group will be further trained in entrepreneurship by the Business Support Unit and helped to register their own cooperatives. “The rest of the artisans would be made available to units for possible employment within the Municipality with the normal recruitment policy still applying,” said City Manager Sibusiso Sithole

Sithole said they were speaking to private businesses about possible partnerships as it is important for the qualified artisans to be absorbed into the job market.