Uncertainly over suitable providers holds back training

TERRY HUTSON MANY SMALL companies (SMMEs) are still not sending their personnel on formal training programmes despite paying training levies towards a National Skills Development Strategy. This was one of the issues raised at a roadshow held in Durban last week by the Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA). A spokesman for the freight forwarders said that even for SMMEs who were willing to undertake formal training programmes, they faced the problem of identifying reliable trainers. Others confirmed that the average SMME didn't know how to go about finding a suitable trainer. TETA was recently mandated by the Minister of Labour for another five years, giving it the go-ahead to continue facilitating skills development in the transport sector until 2010. In a recent Department of Labour performance survey TETA was rated second among 25 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). Almost half a million employees in the transport sector now participate in structured learning programmes and over Skills development still not happening R140 million has been disbursed in discretionary grants for various learnerships in the first five years. There are now 10 300 levy-paying stakeholder companies in the transport sector, representing over 460 000 employees. On the maritime side, the sector has awarded over R15 million for training 3500 personnel from 32 companies since 2003. TETA’s website can be accessed at www.teta26.co.za