2010 Sustainability Report - Cummins.com

Ithemba Institute
of Technology
Soweto, South Africa
Significant partnerships
Ithemba’s
win-win proposition
Editor’s note: Cummins is engaged in a number
of significant partnerships on the key topics of
education, the environment and social justice/
improving the human condition.
Here’s a look at one:
With more than 800,000 residents and double-digit
unemployment, Soweto in South Africa can be a
pretty daunting place to grow up.
But the Ithemba Institute of Technology offers
a little bit of hope in the impoverished township
along with the job skills necessary to lift youth
out of poverty.
“ Our committed involvement in Ithemba
is a clear win-win for all. Not only do the
students get hands-on, relevant training,
education and apprenticeships, we get
the diesel mechanics with the knowledge
and experience we need.”
John Shuttleworth
Cummins Aftermarket Director
South Africa
Ithemba founder Uzendt Peters, a public school
teacher, saw the gap growing between students
who finished school and a job market that was
skills-dependent.
He converted a run-down school into the institute
and brought in companies like Cummins to help
with the curriculum. Ithemba is now filling that
skills gap and at the same time, helping to make
dreams of a better life come true for a growing
number of Soweto residents.
“Our committed involvement in Ithemba is a clear
win-win for all,” says John Shuttleworth, Cummins
Aftermarket Director in South Africa who has
worked closely with Ithemba. “Not only do
the students get hands-on, relevant training,
education and apprenticeships, we get the diesel
mechanics with the knowledge and experience
we need.”
Ithemba is divided into three parts – a FET (Further
Education and Training) school for grades 10-12,
a FET college that teaches technical skills, and
an adult college with evening classes. The school
teaches skills in welding, diesel mechanics,
electrical engineering, fitting and turning,
and hydraulics.
“South Africa has seen a severe drop in
apprenticed artisans – in 1975 the numbers were
around 33,000,” Shuttleworth said. “In 2007, the
numbers had dropped to 1,500. The engineering
industry faces a critical shortage of skilled diesel
mechanics, particularly in the mining sector. It’s up
to big industry players like Cummins to invest in
addressing this now, or face major HR difficulties
in the near future.”
62 Cummins Inc. Sustainability Report 2010