The terminal buildings of the old Durban International Airport, which will become home to Transnet’s new Maritime School of Excellence.
|||The terminal buildings of the old Durban International Airport are being transformed into a Maritime School of Excellence.
Transnet group chief executive Brian Molefe said the plan was to develop critical maritime skills locally and in the southern African region before developments such as the Durban dig-out port.
Transnet bought the site from the Airports Company of South Africa in a R1.8 billion deal last year. The dig-out port will take up much of the prime site.
Molefe spoke to The Mercury after Transnet National Ports Authority chief exe-|cutive Tau Morwe cited the project at the recent African Renaissance conference in Durban.
The initiative was part of government strategy for South Africa to leverage off its long coastline and many ports to develop the country into a global player in the maritime industry.
Transnet spokesman Mboniso Sigonyela said the parastatal’s plan would merge the TNPA School of Ports and Transnet Port Terminal’s School of Ports Operations into a single maritime school.
The school is now on the old School of Ports campus in Durban’s Bayhead area. The main campus is to be relocated to the old airport terminal.
“Refurbishments are under way and occupation is expected by the end of June. The school’s old campus will ultimately become a Durban satellite campus. Other satellite campuses in Richards Bay, Port Elizabeth/Ngqura and Cape Town will be established,” Sigonyela said.
“Included among the school’s benefits are improving our capability to build maritime skills locally, regionally and internationally; providing a more focused service offering for the maritime sector; establishing partnerships with service providers to ensure delivery of globally competitive and accredited training modules across the maritime value chain; delivering integrated training and development offerings; building capacity to avoid future skills shortages; streamlining maritime processes and introducing effective controls; and optimising the utilisation of resources.
“Students will be trained |in marine operations, including pilot training, master |port operations, global marine best practice, berthing master training and container handling.
“There are also courses available in handling break bulk and automotive, crane operations training and port terminals management training.”
The school will accommodate about 240 students.
“The merger of the two schools and repositioning of the school has resulted in about 100 new permanent jobs,” Sigonyela said.
The new maritime school was “a 100 percent Transnet-driven” project.
“However, other strategic alliances and partnerships are being considered,” Sigonyela said.
“Transnet places great emphasis on training and skills development, and as such R7.7 billion will be spent over the next seven years.”
The establishment of the school was also a response to the New Growth Path skills requirement in the Maritime sector.
Transnet could not give details on how much it was investing in the establishment of the school as development was under way and the project was being finalised.
Meanwhile the South African Maritime Safety Authority will host a maritime career expo and job summit in Durban next week.from June 10-12.
Sindiswa Nhlumayo, the head of the authority’s Centre for Maritime Excellence, said South Africa had fewer than 2 400 seafarers, despite its coastline of 3 000km and its maritime assets.
“That is why this career expo and jobs summit are so important.
“Samsa aims to bring 10 000 pupils from around KwaZulu-Natal to the event,” Nhlumayo said.