The City’s Industry Development Programmes Department (IDPD) honoured 400 graduates at its inaugural Skills Development graduation. The hybrid ceremony saw individuals from the Durban Automotive Cluster, Durban Chemicals Cluster, KZN Clothing and Textile Cluster, and the eThekwini Furniture Cluster recognised.

They were recognised for the practical changes they implemented at their companies with skills they learnt during the programme.

The graduation recognised learners’ outcomes, with individuals empowered to make small changes with huge impact on their companies. 

Chris Ngcobo and Natalie Kotze were recognised as two of the top graduates who used the skills development programme to save millions. This was through innovative change management systems for their respective companies.

Chris Ngcobo, from Deneb Investments, perfectly exemplified his skill training application by taking the theory he learnt and converting it into company relevant, practical implementation. He managed to reduce more than half the oil consumed by his department, resulting in a 75 percent cost saving for the company.

Ngcobo concluded his presentation by listing his recently acquired personal key learnings which include project management skills, change management, improved task delegation and cost management. By successfully employing all the skills he learned through the programme, both he and his team were able to reduce oil consumption to just one barrel per week, saving the business over half a million rand annually.

Natalie Kotze, from Bell Equipment, demonstrated similar positive outcomes when she presented her project on reducing the machining time for specific tubes. Not only did she improve efficiencies, reduce late deliveries, and save time and space, but she also led her team through the valuable process of change management. She and her team were able to reduce the time to manufacture a tube by 43 percent and free up 94.5 hours of team capacity to focus on machining other parts.

The IDIP falls under the City’s Economic Development Unit and works to facilitates the stimulation and growth of priority sectors. This is done by providing city-wide support to the targeted economic sectors in-line with the National Industrial Development Policy Framework, eThekwini’s Integrated Development Plan 2, as well as the eThekwini Economic Development and Job Creation Strategy.