It is a growing belief that qualified artisans are imperative to the economic development and prosperity of the country. Artisans are skilled, qualified tradesman who carry out construction, maintenance and repair work within the industrial, commercial and residential sectors. The Artisan profession is one of the oldest professions in the world and the artisan skills shortage is a reoccurring issue that can be seen throughout South Africa’s history. The reoccurring skills shortage plays a major role in hindering the growth of the local economy and in turn the country’s economy. 

 

The artisan skills shortage has been highlighted throughout history and various initiatives have been developed and redesigned in order to address this issue. A constant restructuring of implemented initiatives is evident throughout history so as to ensure the relevance of training with the inevitable fast changing world. Government Acts, apprenticeship programmes and academic curriculums have to be revisited and restructured so as to ensure international relevance and competitiveness. With the evident artisan skills shortage, it is necessary to investigate both successful and unsuccessful initiative approaches as well as the training programmes so as to better understand and implement a response to the skills shortage. South Africa currently generates 13 000 qualified artisans annually, massively missing the requirement rate of 40 000 artisans. This gives rise for the need of a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) establishments throughout the country. 

 

The proposal of a TVET establishment located in Marabastad, Pretoria will contribute to the Nations drive in alleviating the national annual artisan production shortfall. An education campus solely allocated to producing artisans critical to the industrial sector. Students will have the potential to learn theoretically and practically on one campus in Marabastad. The establishment will house all the necessary machinery and facilities such as classrooms and practical workshop space that students need to be correctly trained. The proposed TVET campus has the potential to contribute to the decline of the national unemployment rate, alleviate the shortage of qualified artisans, contribute to a refreshed view on artisanal career paths and provide an opportunity for South Africans both young and old, skilled and unskilled to further their education into a career path with a high absorption rate into the job market.