The new training facilities for aspiring paint contractors at the SA Paint Manufacturing Association Centre of Excellence in Springs could provide essential training for the hundreds of workers who will be jobless after the completion of the Medupi Power Station.

Deryck Spence, executive director of SAPMA, says this is only one of many potential opportunities various departments of government could utilise to train the unemployed and reduce joblessness in South Africa.

SAPMA has suggested to the consultants entrusted with the redeployment of Medupi workers that SAPMA and its training arm, the SA Paint Industry Training Institute could develop a special curriculum, covering one day of theoretical and four days of practical training, for ex-Medupi workers.

“The course, although basic, will nevertheless be comprehensive enough to help successful students gain employment in the paint contracting sector after which they could strive to attain full qualification and expand experience and training to entrepreneur status and starting their own businesses,” Spence explained.

SAPMA has offered to provide special cut-price training and accommodation for a ‘trial team’ of 10 Medupi candidates facing redeployment who would then afterwards become promoters of the training available at the Centre of Excellence to work colleagues and potential candidates. A delegation of the Construction Industry Development Board also recently visited the Centre of Excellence training facility and was, according to Spence, exceptionally impressed and motivated to assist in the future growth of the Centre.

“The delegation met the residents of an Ekurhuleni informal settlement who attended a free course in basic paint application provided by SAPMA. The CIDB executives were touched by the passion and determination of these jobless disadvantaged people, of which five were women, to learn new skills to earn a living.

“With SAPMA’s help, the eight students have already found contractual employment and their success has inspired SAPMA to consider compiling a list of Centre of Excellence-trained paint contractors for use by the public and relevant organisations seeking qualified painters.”

But Spence says the Centre of Excellence critically needs support from governmental bodies as well as the coatings sector to become viable this year.  “Despite the fact that the Department of Trade & Industry has called for a strong working relationship between the private sector and the government in terms of its National Industrial Policy Framework and the five facets of the government’s Industrial Policy Action plan, there has so far been no tangible support from state departments to the SAPMA training on offer.

SAPMA has, for example, invited the Department of Labour, the Department of Public Works, and the Department of Correctional Services to send students to the Centre of Excellence. To date, we have had no reply,” Spence adds.