St Anthony’s produces 19 artisans
The graduation ceremony for 19 automotive repair and maintenance technicians took place at St Anthony’s Education Centre, in Reiger Park, on December 2.
The event was attended by Wayne Adams, COO of merSETA, Raymond Patel CEO of merSETA, and Wendy Matai manager of the dealer training academy at Mercedes-Benz SA, as well as various staff members from Mercedes-Benz SA.
In 2012, St Anthony’s, Mercedes-Benz SA and merSETA joined forces to implement a three-year learnership programme for 24 learners.
It was an historic moment for St Anthony’s, because it was the first time a learnership was offered at the centre.
The students were divided into two groups.
While group one was doing theory at the centre, group two was at the Mercedes-Benz SA dealerships getting workplace experience.
Unfortunately, five learners dropped out due to social issues and problems associated with living in disadvantaged communities.
The remaining 19 students did their trade tests at the AA Technical College Midrand Campus and are now fully qualified artisans.
The learnership represents a major step forward in St Anthony’s efforts to offer quality training that equips learners with the knowledge and skills needed to secure decent formal employment, as opposed to the precarious informal employment market that has been the fate of many learners in the past.
“We hope that this learnership will lead to many similar initiatives,” said Jimmy Thosago, skills training manager at St Anthony’s Education Centre.
