The National Tooling Initiative Programme will introduce its TDM Powered Programme, one of South Africa’s flagship skills development programmes in the manufacturing industry, at the Africa Energy Indaba on 21 and 22 February 2017. The Indaba, featuring an impressive industry exhibition, will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre, and includes some of Africa’s top private and public energy stakeholders.

The TDM Powered Skills Development Programme forms part of a national strategic initiative to rehabilitate and grow the tool, die and mouldmaking sector, a key support function for manufacturing, and is being implemented by the Intsimbi National Tooling Initiative, with the main objective of countering the skills erosion and job losses hampering the TDM sector.

For the first time, the Indaba is hosting the African Youth Energy Innovator Showcase, which aims to create a much-needed platform for youth talent in Africa to exhibit their skills and talents. One of the aims of the Indaba is to empower and inspire young individuals by allowing them to interact with the best and most innovative industry experts. Ten TDM Powered Foundation Programme students were selected to introduce themselves to and discuss work prospects with business leaders during one-on-one interview sessions at the two-day conference. These students were the top achievers in terms of completing work pieces at first attempt and had the highest scores in their applied test and examination marks.

The TDM Powered Foundation Programme, acknowledged by the Toolmaking Association of South Africa (TASA), provides students an entry into the manufacturing and tooling industry. The Foundation Programme was designed, developed and implemented as a feeder programme for the Artisan Programme with a focus on remedial Mathematics, Science and English and other gaps. The Foundation Programme therefore caters to upskill students who would otherwise not have qualified for the basic skills training.

Two of NTIP’s employees, Janette van der Spuy (On-the-Job Training) and Peter Paulse (Curriculum) will also be presenting the topic “Training Artisans… a New Perspective” during informal information sessions at the event.

Dirk van Dyk, CEO at NTIP, explains that the Tool, Die and Mouldmaking (TDM) Powered Skills Development Programme is part of a national strategic initiative introduced by government (the dti) and the TDM industry to rehabilitate this sector in South Africa. The Foundation Programme provides students with an opportunity to acquire necessary skills to pursue a career in the manufacturing industry. “Students have the option to complete the programme and enter the world of work or can use the qualification to enter artisan programmes that support advanced manufacturing,” says van Dyk.

”Conferences such as these provide valuable exposure to our programme and students who need experience in all facets of the manufacturing industry. South Africa needs to build its tooling manufacturing capacity to become globally more competitive if the country wants to create more jobs”, van Dyk further stated.

Everybody is welcome to register online for the two-day event by visiting www.africaenergyindaba.com. Visit the NTIP booth at C2.