Dear Residents
Makana Municipality remains committed to empowering unemployed people and I am happy to announce that through our ongoing partnership with the Department of Labour various learnerships and skills development programmes are in the pipeline.
The Department of Labour has identified a number of programmes with the aim of training and re-skilling 1650 unemployed people in Makana Municipality in attempts to make them employable. To this end the department has partnered with various entities to train and re-skill job seekers in market relevant fields. They have also partnered with various employers to create work opportunities which will take in the re-skilled workers. The department also hopes to encourage entrepreneurship by providing access to relevant training support to unemployed people.
These programmes will be launched officially by the Department of Labour and the municipality next month. Details of the launch will be made available as soon as they become available. Recruitment and appointment of participants will be done by the department. I would like to encourage unemployed people who have contributed to the UIF to visit the Department of Labour and unemployed people who are between the ages of 18 and 35 to visit our local Youth Office and register on their database so that they can be considered for these programmes.
Some of the programmes have already started. Below is a list of the programmes, service providers and status:
| Name of institution | Programme | Number of learners | Project status |
| Lovedale Tvet College | Plant and animal production learnership | 250 | Recruitment stage |
| Walter Sisulu University (WSU) | NCERA Project | 200 | Learners in class |
| Water and Sanitation Learnership | 50 | Learners in class | |
| Mhlathuze Water Board | Water and Sanitation Learnership | 400 | Learners in class |
| Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA) | New venture creation learnership | 150 | Not yet started |
| Construction SETA (CETA) | National certificate: Roadworks | 50 | Recruitment stage |
| Services SETA | Cleaning and hygiene learnership | 50 | Recruitment stage |
| Services SETA | Hair and beauty short skills | 50 | Recruitment stage |
| MICT SETA | IT systems support | 50 | Recruitment stage |
| Central Energy Fund (DOE Entity) | Installation of 6000 solar geysers | Numbers not yet confirmed | Not yet started |
| Fort Hare Solutions | Business skills training | 400 | Recruitment stage |
| TOTAL | 1650 |
These programmes are funded through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), hence beneficiaries are former UIF contributors who are currently unemployed. The programmes are intended to re-skill the participants so that they can get back into the job market. Seventy (70) percent of the participants will be taken from the Department of Labour’s database and thirty (30) percent from our local Youth office database.
These programmes are developed in accordance with our strategic objective that seeks to create a conducive environment for vulnerable groups to participate and benefit in socio- economic development and also create a conducive climate for economic growth and development.
They are also designed on a model that puts emphasis on capacitating and skilling the affected individuals to develop into independent marketable entrepreneurs that can contribute to their own sustainability as well as contribute to the economy by creating jobs which will directly impact on the efforts of poverty eradication.
Hon. Executive Mayor Cllr. Mzukisi Mpahlwa
