The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are happy to announce that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will facilitate the two entities’ collaboration on research, development and innovation projects.

According to CHIETA CEO Yershen Pillay, the MOU will provide for the implementation of future and priority skills in digitisation, innovation, green chemistry and advance South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), while also enabling collaboration on skills development and training initiatives, as well as support implementation of future CHIETA SMART Skills Centres.

In addition, the MOU allows the entities to collaborate on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) development and support projects. “Furthermore, the signing of this agreement celebrates the achievements to date between the parties, while also strengthening existing partnerships and allowing us to explore future collaborations, particularly in the innovation and green hydrogen space,” says Pillay.

He explains that the partnership is key to driving skills development and transformation initiatives aimed at women in leadership through STEM projects that are designed to grow the number of females entering the industry as a result of accurate profiling. Accurate gap analysis will result in the correct percentage shift towards the transformation of supply, as per the CHIETA Research and Skills Planning and balanced scorecard measures.

Pillay notes that the partnership will also benefit skills development in the country, as it is envisaged that the partnership will contribute to addressing the skills development element of the ERRP.

Following the signing of the MOU, CHIETA has awarded the CSIR with an initial grant of R1.2 million that will see the organisations collaborate in supporting and developing master’s and PhD students. This initiative is particularly important as the latest CHIETA sector skills planning data reflected that in the period 2016 to 2020, 4 109 master’s degrees were awarded in the engineering fields related to the chemical industry (CHIETA SSP, 2022) (HEMIS, 2019). This number has grown on average by 1% annually, while the total number of doctoral degrees decreased on average by 10.3% per year for the 2016 to 2020 period.  These stats have an impact on the chemical industry’s skills supply as the sector relies heavily on high level skills, research and development. The aim of the project is to support post-graduate students at master’s and PhD level with training in critical emerging niche areas of nanotechnology, biorefining, biomanufacturing and the hydrogen economy.

This partnership, according to CSIR Chief Executive Officer Dr Thulani Dlamini, would enable the two entities to drive innovative skills development projects that focus on digital skills, and specialised technologies to produce a future-ready workforce.

“It is critical that we prepare young people and the industry to respond to the developing digitalised and data intensive environment in which we now find ourselves by building an environment that ensures that have essential skills to remain globally competitive. Our world class facilities and technical expertise will enable CHIETA to deliver on its mandate of supporting the development of a future ready workforce. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration that will see us positively contribute to the development of a sustainable chemical industry in South Africa,” says Dr Dlamini.

ENDS

For media-related queries, interviews and images please contact gnyathi@chieta.org.za,  call 011 6287000 OR llmeyer@csir.co.za, 012 841 4712
 

About CHIETA
The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) is a statutory body that was established by the Skills Development Act in 1998. CHIETA’s role in the sector is to facilitate skills development, as well as ensure that skills needs are identified and addressed through various training initiatives in the chemical and manufacturing industries.
 

About the CSIR:

The CSIR, an entity of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, is one of the leading scientific and technology research, development, and implementation organisations in Africa. Constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1945 as a science council, the CSIR undertakes directed and multidisciplinary research and technological innovation, as well as industrial and scientific development, to improve the quality of life of all South Africans. For more information, visit www.csir.co.za

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