Training facility to help deal with unemployment
Kwastaduza – As everyone prepares for the new train manufacturing factory to be built in Dunnottar, many will also be looking at gaining work opportunities that will be available to them.
During his talk at the sod-turning event, the CEO of Gibela, Marc Granger, shared information on the training and work opportunities the factory will offer.
He said that, so far, they have already trained 337 South Africans in a range of skills.
“Some of the current Gibela employees have enjoyed training and gained experience at Alstom’s plants in France, Brazil, or elsewhere in the world, and together they have already logged 30 000 training hours.
“These trained people are already passing on their skills to colleagues here, in the country, as we are committee to training and skills transfer,” he said.
As the new factory site will also include a training facility, it will provide training in various technical fields to a total of 19 000 people over a 10-year period.
However, he did emphasise that not all the people to be trained will be employed at the factory.
“Several thousand will be suppliers’ employees and more than 10 000 of the people to be trained will head straight to the South African rail industry,” Granger said.
“They will be people operating and maintaining the South African rail network on which our ultra-modern trains will run.
“Their training is part of our commitment to the country, to help its people gain skills that they can take into the wider world.”
Granger added that Gibela also awarded 180 bursaries to young people around the country, who started their studies in the 2016 academic year.
