Key points
- South Deep signed agreements with Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, Mienara, Phahama School of Specialisation and Westcol TVET College.
- The Siyakha Sonke initiative is being piloted in the West Rand, where youth unemployment remains a serious problem.
- Four workstreams will focus on skills alignment, transferable skills, routes into employment and cooperation among stakeholders.
JOHANNESBURG. Gold Fields’ South Deep mine has signed agreements with mining companies and education providers as part of an effort to narrow the gap between skills training and jobs in South Africa’s West Rand.
The memoranda of understanding involve Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, Mienara, Phahama School of Specialisation and Westcol Technical and Vocational Education and Training College. They support a collaborative initiative called Siyakha Sonke, which means “we are building together.”
South Deep catalyzed the program and is piloting it in the West Rand, where mining remains a major employer and unemployment, especially among young people, is a serious problem. The initiative is South Deep’s contribution to the Gold Fields group’s legacy programs, a set of long-term social investments meant to give host communities lasting benefits beyond the life of a mine.
The first agreements connect mining companies and schools with growth sectors such as renewable energy and manufacturing. More partnerships are being explored.
Organizers want to line up and strengthen existing efforts across industry and education, and to build a model that can be scaled up. They also want skills training to keep pace as technology, innovation and automation reshape industries.
Benford Mokoatle, Gold Fields South Africa’s senior vice president, said mineral resources are finite and technology is advancing quickly. Skills taught today, he said, should be future-ready and transferable between mining and other growth industries.
No single organization can solve the country’s skills and jobs challenge, according to the release sent to Mining Weekly. The initiative held its first working group meeting in June. Stakeholders mapped regional assets, looked for ways to work together and began shaping practical pilot projects that tie education and training to employment.
The program is now laying the groundwork for four workstreams. They cover matching skills development to industry demand, identifying skills that let workers move between sectors, strengthening routes into jobs, and encouraging cooperation among industry, schools, government and others.
Thabisile Phumo, Sibanye-Stillwater’s executive vice president for stakeholder relations, said the skills mining needs will change as the industry evolves. The partnership, she said, offers a chance to identify replacement skills and create ways for workers and communities to move into successor economies.
At the time of publication, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, Mienara, Phahama and Westcol had formalized their participation. The release said the initiative brings together partners from mining, education, training, government and the private sector.
