Education and training

Rural schools are being built.

Phuleng Primary School came into existence in 2018, the result of a partnership between De Beers Consolidated Mines and the Free State Department of Education.

The R25-million school is part of Voorspoed Mine’s Rural Schools Development Programme and provides five blocks of four classrooms each for the primary school, a Grade R section and facilities for media and cooking.

Basic education and training statistics show that access to schooling and training in the province has increased markedly in recent years. Enrolment in Grade R (reception year) is increasing rapidly. There are 663 public schools and 263 other community sites offering schooling in the Free State. School transport is provided to more than 10 000 pupils.

The University of the Free State has 158 researchers rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF), two A-rated scientists and five tier-one SARChi research chairs. The university has 18 international research partnerships and produces an average of 240 postgraduate research degrees every year. A commercialisation unit assists researchers to get products to market either by licensing the intellectual property or by taking royalties and/or shares in a spin-off company.

The Central University of Technology (CUT) has a main campus in Bloemfontein and branches in Welkom and Kimberley. There are three faculties: Engineering and Information and Communication Technology, Health and Environmental Sciences, and Management Sciences. Researchers at units such as the Centre for Community, Environmental and Industrial Development tackle important regional issues.

The Free State Provincial Government is implementing South Africa’s largest global skills development programme in support of implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP). The free overseas training programme entails about 905 students studying in leading universities in China, India, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Turkey and Belarus.

Fields of study range from all kinds of engineering, to computer science, medicine and pharmacy. India hosts students in the health sciences sector. Germany offers sustainable mining and remediation, computer engineering, international trade economics, electrical chemicals engineering, molecular biology and genetics, and civil engineering.

The Free State has just over 14 000 students at four Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, taught by 400 lecturers. The colleges have multiple sites. Maluti TVET College in Phuthaditjhaba, for example, offers classes at seven sites. Flavius Mareka TVET College has Kroonstad and Sasolburg venues. Motheo TVET College operates in Bloemfontein and Thaba Nchu, while Goldfields TVET College is in Welkom.

Technical schools are being upgraded with resources being allocated to the recapitalisation programme. A provincial internship programme gives graduates a chance to work in provincial government departments and municipalities.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Central University of Technology: www.cut.ac.za Free State Department of Education: www.fsdoe.fs.gov.za University of the Free State: www.ufs.ac.za

SECTOR INSIGHT

A commercialisation unit at UFS turns research into business.

Mangaung Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The voice of business in the Free State.

The Bloemfontein Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), the oldest chamber in the Free State, was expanded in 2013 to include the whole metropole. We are now known as the Mangaung Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).

With all the experience we have in chamberrelated matters, we strongly believe that we have the progressive outlook befitting a chamber complying with modern-day requirements.

Through our endeavours in the Business and Agricultural sectors, the MCCI won the PRM African awards – three years in a row – for the organisation doing the most for business and entrepreneurial development as well as BBBEE implementation.

Objectives • Entrepreneurs are the engines of communitywide economic development. The MCCI is creating a sufficient number of entrepreneurs to transform this region’s economy. • We serve our members and the community with innovative approaches to establish a vibrant business network that will promote all levels and stages of businesses. • Signing and implementing MOUs with stakeholders that can make a difference. • To give practical credibility to the term “Local

Economic Development” not only in Mangaung, but in other areas in the Free State as well. • To promote and support local businesses through specific interventions like the “Member-support-

Member” campaign. • To promote BBBEE by, among other initiatives, linking big and small businesses through the

Chamber’s network. • To do advocacy on behalf of our members so that we can influence and monitor relevant authorities and role-players. • To promote the development of the city and surrounds as a destination of choice for tourists. • To become a strategic vehicle for the participation of member businesses in social responsibility programmes. • To promote and support initiatives aimed at renewable and alternative energy sources.

Benefits for members • Innovative networking events and opportunities • SMME development and support centre • Import and export support centre • Seminars, training, workshops and business mentoring • Advertising opportunities for our members • Lobbying municipalities, local and provincial government • Members can participate in the investment project funded by the United Nations, to develop emerging farmers in order to equip them to cultivate agricultural products for food security, not only for their own regions, but up to exporting products.

CONTACT INFO

Mangaung Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tel: +27 51 522 1710 Email: President@bcci.co.za Website: www.mcci.co.za