Free State Business 2022

OVERVIEW
Education and training
Skills development programmes are expanding.
SECTOR INSIGHT
UFS researchers are doing
advanced work on protein
structure prediction.
The CUT Hotel School has a new roof. Credit: CUT/Sebedisan Group
An extensive Skills Development Programme is giving
young people skills and work experience in a variety of
fields. The Provincial Government of the Free State spent
about R120-million training 3 367 people in 2020/21 on
various skills programmes.
These were supported by placements with government
departments and with private businesses: 120 unemployed
graduates were specifically supported by the province on
stints at companies. Sector Education and Training Authorities
(SETAs) are involved in the programmes which include graduate
internships, learnerships, short-skills programmes and workintegrated
learning methods. The province’s road-building unit
will link up with TVET college graduates to provide specific
work training.
A national policy of promoting training in critical trades has
been adopted. Two of the three campuses of Flavius Mareka TVET
College are designated Centres of Specialisation, for electrical work
at Sasolburg and plumbing at Kroonstad. The Mphohadi campus of
the college is also in Kroonstad.
The Free State has about 14 000 students at four Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, taught by 400
lecturers. All of the colleges have multiple sites. Maluti TVET College in
Phuthaditjhaba, for example, offers classes at eight sites. Motheo TVET
College operates in Bloemfontein and Thaba Nchu, while Goldfields
TVET College is headquartered in Welkom with some classes offered in
Thabong and a satellite campus at Virginia (Meloding).
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 team of undergraduates
from the UFS Department of
Animal Sciences won the 2021
national quiz held at the 52nd
congress of the South African
Society for Animal Science
(SASAS). At the same event,
Andries van der Merwe, a
postgraduate student, received
the SASAS Student Postgraduate
Merit Award for exceptional
academic achievement. Dr
Sinobongo Mdyogolo, a PhD
student, was presented with the
SASAS Bronze Medal in respect
of her PhD achievements in
the research and technology
transfer categories.
A group of academics
from the Department of
Microbiology and Biochemistry
has been involved in an
exciting international
collaboration of researchers
which solved a difficult and
intricate problem in science,
FREE STATE BUSINESS 2022
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