Learning the basics of factory work via the biggest industrial operation in East London has given local young people the impetus to develop a vision for their future career way beyond the tentative steps they have taken at the Mercedes-Benz Learning Academy (MBLA).
They are among a group of 180 trainees doing various programmes through the MBLA across from the company’s auto assembly plant on Settler’s Way.
Mulchan Willard, 30, says MBSA is the economic backbone of East London and being part of the company is a privilege.
He said the intensive learning he had undergone as part of a four-year millwright programme had given him a wholly different perspective on his future.
“In 10 years’ time I would like to be independent. The training I have received here will open up a lot of doors in the future.”
Third-year auto engineering trainee Ntombiyathu Ntombi Gulu, 21, said she would also be opening her own business.
She said people in her community were already asking her for help with their vehicles.
Another trainee, Asanda Nkonki, 26, said she had already registered a company in preparation for the day when she launched out on her own. “The impact this training with a world-class company will have on our careers is humungous.
“People know we’re about producing quality cars here at MBSA.”
Wanda Kunjwa, 23, a second-year trainee millwright, says that having the MBSA experience on one’s resumé is a sure-fire way to be easily accepted by other employers in future.
The group was part of the larger intake of trainees who welcomed dignitaries at the official opening of the MBLA last week, the culmination of a R130-million joint investment agreement between MBSA and National Treasury’s Jobs Fund, which was signed in 2014.
The agreement saw the transformation of the MBSA technical training centre into a fully-fledged and world-class academy.
“Education and skills development is of paramount importance to the business and the sustainability of our company and the communities in which we operate,” d chief executive Arno van der Merwe said.
“The MBLA is destined to be a strategic service provider in MBSA’s holistic approach to further education and training, with an ultimate objective of helping the region in the continuing fight against high unemployment,” the company said in a statement.
The technical centre was first opened in 1981 and has been the main feeder for the plant’s technical workforce.
But the facilities have been ramped up to take account of changing technologies in motor vehicles and assembly methodologies.
The company also believes that the MBLA can play a role in developing technical skills for other industries to promote economic growth and job creation in the region.
This view was supported by both premier Phumulo Masualle and Buffalo City Metro executive mayor Alfred Mtsi, a former MBSA shop steward.
“The academy currently boasts some 180 learners and is expanding its numbers in order to have surplus capacity to better provide artisans for the broader community as time progresses,” the company said.
MBSA TRAINS NEXT GENERATION
They are among a group of 180 trainees doing various programmes through the MBLA across from the company’s auto assembly plant on Settler’s Way.
Mulchan Willard, 30, says MBSA is the economic backbone of East London and being part of the company is a privilege.
He said the intensive learning he had undergone as part of a four-year millwright programme had given him a wholly different perspective on his future.
“In 10 years’ time I would like to be independent. The training I have received here will open up a lot of doors in the future.”
Third-year auto engineering trainee Ntombiyathu Ntombi Gulu, 21, said she would also be opening her own business.
She said people in her community were already asking her for help with their vehicles.
Another trainee, Asanda Nkonki, 26, said she had already registered a company in preparation for the day when she launched out on her own. “The impact this training with a world-class company will have on our careers is humungous.
“People know we’re about producing quality cars here at MBSA.”
Wanda Kunjwa, 23, a second-year trainee millwright, says that having the MBSA experience on one’s resumé is a sure-fire way to be easily accepted by other employers in future.
The group was part of the larger intake of trainees who welcomed dignitaries at the official opening of the MBLA last week, the culmination of a R130-million joint investment agreement between MBSA and National Treasury’s Jobs Fund, which was signed in 2014.
The agreement saw the transformation of the MBSA technical training centre into a fully-fledged and world-class academy.
“Education and skills development is of paramount importance to the business and the sustainability of our company and the communities in which we operate,” d chief executive Arno van der Merwe said.
“The MBLA is destined to be a strategic service provider in MBSA’s holistic approach to further education and training, with an ultimate objective of helping the region in the continuing fight against high unemployment,” the company said in a statement.
The technical centre was first opened in 1981 and has been the main feeder for the plant’s technical workforce.
But the facilities have been ramped up to take account of changing technologies in motor vehicles and assembly methodologies.
The company also believes that the MBLA can play a role in developing technical skills for other industries to promote economic growth and job creation in the region.
This view was supported by both premier Phumulo Masualle and Buffalo City Metro executive mayor Alfred Mtsi, a former MBSA shop steward.
“The academy currently boasts some 180 learners and is expanding its numbers in order to have surplus capacity to better provide artisans for the broader community as time progresses,” the company said.
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