Pretoria - Students at Tshwane North TVET College were excited to be among the recipients of a donation of an engine unit set valued at over R2 million by Nissan SA during a ceremony hosted at their Rosslyn campus on Friday.
The vehicle manufacturing company handed over engine unit sets of engines, gearboxes and differentials to another four TVET colleges based in Gauteng, Limpopo and North West, including the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The other colleges were Tshwane South, Waterberg, Vuselela and Central Johannesburg.
Principal at Tshwane North College, Dr Thembi Tsibogo said: “The engines will provide experiential training to students who are studying automotive programmes in the engineering faculty, and this will enable lecturers to enhance learning by providing practical demonstrations and application of the subject content.”
The donation was made possible through the motor technology enhancement programme, which is aimed at enhancing the colleges’ motor technology curriculum, with the intention of making them responsive to the needs of the ever-evolving automotive industry.
Country director at Nissan South Africa, Kabelo Rabotho said: “Nissan has embarked on a journey to support skills development and training in higher education institutions across South Africa through actively supporting projects that are focused on resolving societal challenges. We’re committed to working to improve the lives of South Africans and communities in areas such as education, the environment and humanitarian aid.”
It was hoped that the donation would assist in addressing a chronic skills shortage in the automotive industry. Globally, it is estimated that the sector is set to face a shortage of 2.3 million skilled workers by 2025 and 4.3 million by 2030.
“Having Nissan SA as our partner in the journey towards establishing an up-to-date motor technical programme with tools and state-of- the-art equipment is a dream come true for us,” said Dr Samuel Loyiso Gqibani, UJ’s head of School for Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Technology.
Rabotho said Nissan’s approach towards advanced teaching and skills development was informed by its commitment towards advancing the UN’s Sustainable Goal of inclusive and quality education, furthering South Africa’s Automotive Master Plan 2035,
which commits the industry to the development of new technologies and skills, and Nissan’s own sustainability strategy pillar of realising a more inclusive society.
Pretoria News