The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (Chieta) and the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) have decided to work together on implementing Chieta’s SMART Skills Centres in rural areas across the country. Chieta announced that it has formalised its partnership with the NLC and the areas it wants to focus 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.
They have also agreed on a joint programme for youth unemployment targeting youth in the chemical industries. The programme will also explore new opportunities in waste recycling, green chemistry, and sustainability.
‘Nobody gets left behind’
Yershen Pillay, the Chieta CEO
“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 CEO.
NLC Commissioner, Jodi Scholtz, said NLC was proud to partner with Chieta to help ensure digital skills reach people throughout the country, especially those in rural areas, where access to skills and technology is needed.
“We look forward to this collaboration and ensuring support of young people who need an opportunity to gain scarce skills and enjoy access to state-of-the-art technology,” she said.
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.
Countrywide rollout
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 Port Elizabeth TVET College campus 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.
