Coega tells of success rate
[caption id="attachment_39004" align="alignright" width="405"] RIGHT TRACK: Coega Development Corporation interns are, from left, back, Lubabalo Banzana, Lwandile Gawulayo and Akhona Qunta; middle, Siphokazi Mrawusi and Sihle Nkombisa, and, front, Anda Mododa, Tabo Langa, Nomathamsanqa Mazosiwe, Andiswa Mona and Siyanda Tini[/caption]
COEGA has created 47000 jobs since its establishment on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth and plans to double this in the next seven years, the organisation says.
But, to ensure the expansion, school leavers, pupils and students, particularly from Nelson Mandela Bay, need to choose subjects and career paths that will improve their chances of employment in electrical and civil trades, as well as in engineering and construction-related industries.
Coega Human Capital Solutions (HCS) recruitment and placement head Duncan Grenfell told a Business Chamber event that the Coega labour demand projections for 2012 to 2021 estimated that 39034 jobs would open up in construction, while 8275 operational jobs could be created in priority sectors of metals, manufacturing, logistics, petro-chemical and energy at the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ).
The majority of the jobs will be created during the construction phase of the petro-chemical plant (23000) and energy projects (11200). These involve the planned establishment of the R100billion megaproject Mthombo and the R3.5-billion mini-power station, the Dedisa peaking plant.
While Coega is confident that Project Mthombo will go ahead, industry experts are sceptical about whether the ambitious project will ever see the light of day, having stalled for years.
To date, of 47000 employment opportunities at Coega, 85% have been filled by people from the Nelson Mandela Bay region.
"More than R2-billion in hourly wages have been paid between 2001 and 2013," Grenfell said.
He said 41% of residents from Nelson Mandela Bay who found employment because of the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) were from Motherwell, while 20% lived in Uitenhage and 17% in Port Elizabeth's northern areas. "It is a contractual requirement of our investors to make use of local employment, either through individuals or SMMEs," Grenfell said.
A total of 283441 people had already registered on the CDC's database, Gateway-2-Opportunity, which also acts as a free noticeboard for companies wanting to advertise vacancies and as a general recruitment site, which offers career advice to job seekers.
Grenfell said the database also offered the Coega HCS team an opportunity to carry out labour forecasting.
The CDC is also involved in various government strategic infrastructure projects, including major projects for the departments of Health and Public Works.
Coega HCS has an extensive internship programme for Eastern Cape students in quantity surveying, civil engineering, construction, and health and safety.
Interns gain valuable work experience at the Coega IDZ and the various provincial infrastructural development projects managed by the CDC. Grenfell said a total of 60 interns had been placed at the upgrade of the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane, East London.
More than 8000 trainees had gone through various programmes, learnerships and apprenticeships with the CDC in the past financial year, he said.
ýThe third annual Coega Youth Leadership Development Academy (CYLDA) training programme is taking place this week in Pietermaritzburg. The 40 students attending this year's programme are studying at the University of Zululand (Unizulu), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT). Coega has a KwaZulu-Natal office. - Cindy Preller
