Staff Reporter
THE Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) and the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) have agreed to collaborate on the rollout of CHIETA’s SMART Skills Centres in rural areas nationwide.
CHIETA confirmed that it has agreed to formalise its collaboration with the NLC and the areas it wishes to work on.
The NLC regulates the National Lottery Operator, Society lotteries, Private Lotteries, and Lotteries Incidental to exempt entertainment.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) between CHIETA and the NLC provides a framework for cooperation that leverages joint research from the two entities and CHIETA’s Smart Skills Centres to support NLC grant applicants in different provinces.
The parties aim to support initiatives supporting the CHIETA and the NLC strategic objectives through different projects. The collaboration will foster closer cooperation between the NLC and CHIETA, promoting information sharing, mutual accountability, and transparency in their respective entity roles.
“This is a major boost for our efforts as CHIETA to ensure that nobody in rural South Africa is left behind on the digital revolution,” says Yershen Pillay, the CHIETA chief executive.
The opening of the Brits SMART Skills Centre in the North-West last month brings the number of centres to four since the first centre was launched in 2022 in Saldanha Bay.
The centre aims to bridge the digital skills divide and accelerate the development of basic digital skills for a future-fit workplace as part of the CHIETA strategy to innovate for impact in societies nationwide.
Since October 2022, CHIETA has established smart skills centres in Saldana Bay in the Western Cape, the Mthashana Skills Centre in Babanango, a small rural town near Melmoth in Kwazulu-Natal, and the Iqhayiya campus of the Port Elizabeth TVET College in Gqeberha.
It follows a call from the Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, who articulated a vision for SMART Skills Centres to be established in all parts of the country by 2020.
The Brits SMART Skills Centre will provide comprehensive digital skills programs tailored for enterprises, individuals, schools, and TVET colleges. With a particular focus on rural learners, the centre aims to bridge the digital divide by offering access to data and a wide range of training courses.
CHIETA will open the Emalahleni Smart Skills Centre in Witbank at the Highveld Industrial Park, Elandsfontein, Emalahleni, next week.
The Emalahleni Smart Skills Centre is equipped with 3 VR pods, 12 workstations, a smart boardroom, and meeting rooms. The centre will be linked to various technology-based programmes, including robotics and virtual welding, as well as skills programmes and e-learning initiatives.
The centre will focus on enterprises, individuals, and schools, with a specific emphasis on rural youth.
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