At uMngeni-uThukela Water, skills development remains an essential enabler for employees to excel in their individual and organisational roles to deliver on the entity’s mandate.

As part of the continued endeavours to strengthen organisational leadership capacity; two Executives enrolled for an Executive Leadership Development Program at Stellenbosch University. A three multi-layered assessment was adopted focusing on key areas namely, behaviour change, attitudinal and technical skills. The outcomes of the capacity impact assessment report will be used as baseline for the design and decision-making on future Leadership Development initiatives.

A total of 17 employees have been completed the Management Development Program (MDP) at the University of Kwa Zulu-Natal Extended Learning, one Executive completed the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) with Stellenbosch University. Twenty-one (21) completed the Supervisory Development Programme (SDP) from Enterprise University of Pretoria. The purpose of this programme is to equip the newly appointed managers and supervisors with new set of skills and current individuals who are already occupying leadership roles, to ensure the achievement of the organisation’s Vision and organisational sustainability. The MDP, ELDP and SDP programs further aim to assist with the achievement of short- and long-term goals of the organisation.

The apprenticeships programme provided training, development and exposure to both internal and external candidates. On completion of trade tests, the Apprentices are deemed to be competent as Artisans. The Apprentices are then appointed as junior artisans for a two-year period for them to gain experience that is in line with the minimum requirements of the artisan positions. A total of 57 apprentices were appointed in the apprenticeship programme and will receive theoretical training at Majuba TVET College and Shukela Training Centre in the Automotive Motor Mechanics, Boiler making, Electrical, Instrumentation, Fitting and Millwright trades. In 2023/24 apprentices will receive practical work exposure from various operational sites within the entity as per the requirements of the programme.

uMngeni-uThukela Water assessed the skills and competency levels of internal personnel against requirements of Draft Regulation 17 of the Water Services Act for Blue Drop and Green Drop certification and developed a multi-year training plan to fill the skills and competency gaps. The internal positions include Superintendent, Process and Quality Technician, Senior Operator, Operator and Process Controller positions. In the reporting period a total of 525 Process Controllers were enrolled in either the Learnership Programme or in N3 Water and Waste Treatment and various courses in water and wastewater treatment.

The organisation continued to provide employees with financial support to further their studies in disciplines related to the entity’s core and support business for improved performance to meet the current and future skills needs through the Assisted Education Programme (AEP). For the period under review, 36% of employees enrolled in formal qualifications that respond directly to critical and scarce skills needs. The qualifications ranges from NQF level 6 to NQF level 10, consisting of under graduate and post graduate qualifications.