The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s (dtic’s) seven National Quality and Productivity Network (NQPN) member organisations and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have signed an agreement for the implementation of a training programme – the Quality and Productivity Improvement (QPI) programme – for roll-out in the automotive sector in South Africa.
The dtic had previously signed an agreement with JICA to implement the Kaizen quality and productivity project for lower-tier component suppliers in the automotive value chain, as well as the steel and metal sectors across the country.
Kaizen focuses on hands-on and practical skills development through a participatory, learning-by-doing, human-focused and process-oriented approach, dtic sectors branch acting deputy director-general Dr Anneline Chetty said at the signing event on September 13.
The new agreement will formalise the establishment and functioning of the NQPN, which is a network of organisations and associations that promotes quality and productivity improvement activities across the country.
“The Kaizen project started in June 2022, and the team spent a year developing the framework of the NQPN. The aim of the framework is to maximise the impact and reach of training academies in South Africa,” said QPI chief adviser and JICA chief representative in South Africa Kimiaki Jin.
The seven member organisations of the NQPN include Productivity South Africa; the Automotive Industry Development Centre, Gauteng; the Automotive Industry Development Centre, Eastern Cape; the Automotive Supply Chain Competitiveness Initiative; Plastics South Africa; Production Technologies Association of South Africa; and JICA.