CHIETA signs MOU with South African Nuclear Energy Corporation to reduce unemployment
The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) for collaboration on skills development programmes that will assist in alleviating the unemployment rate especially amongst the youth in South Africa.
The collaboration between the two entities is anchored on their mandates. CHIETA is legislated towards contributing to sustainable development through facilitating the provision of skills for growth in the chemical sector. Necsa on the other side is fundamentally created to develop, utilise and manage nuclear technology for national and regional socio-economic development. Therefore, there is convergence in skills development and training for youth development in the country.
The signing ceremony, which was led, by Mr Yershen Pillay, CEO of CHIETA as well as Necsa Group CEO Mr Loyiso Tyabashe took place on 31 March 2022. The signed MoU has come into effect upon the date of the final signature (31 March 2022) and it is scheduled to continue from the date of signing for four years through to the end of March 2026, with the potential to be extended should it be considered necessary.
The focus areas of the MoU include collaborations on:
- Transformational issues that include women in both management and leadership positions,
- Implementation of relevant skills development projects,
- Development of the school of specialisation project as well as
- Implementation of skills development for Necsa’s multipurpose nuclear reactor project
“As Necsa we are delighted to be part of the initiative that aims to contribute to the economic growth of our country through skills development. We are looking forward to having all the trainees, especially the unemployed youth at our state-of-the-art Necsa learning Academy (NLA) that is accredited by CHIETA and other SETAs. Our programmes will equip the youth with requisite skills for the chemical industry in South Africa and abroad. We also look forward to these trainees getting jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities in our projects and the broader industry in the future”, said Necsa Group CEO Mr Loyiso Tyabashe.
Yershen Pillay, CEO of CHIETA added: “The high level of unemployment in South Africa is of deep concern to civil society, private sector and government, therefore there is a need for all sectors to join hands in overcoming this challenge”. He further continued: “We know that relevant skills development has a positive impact on the economy and subsequently on the unemployment rate. We looking forward to working with Necsa, which has a close-on 60-year history of efficiently operating the SAFARI-1 research reactor. We believe this MoU will not only contribute to the pool of employable and skilled people in the country, but more specifically it will make a difference to much-needed scarce skills in technology and other STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) sectors.”
Web: https://www.chieta.org.za
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