The Transnet Academy has concluded a five-year partnership agreement with the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town.
The move will assist Transnet with enhanced technical capacity, reliable safety standards and superior customer service delivery. The agreement, which underscores Transnet’s commitment to skills development to improve productivity, quality, and competitiveness, aligns with the Transnet Academy’s objective of improving the development and training levels of South Africans and creating long-term socio-economic growth and prosperity.
Through the partnership, the Faculty of Rail within the Transnet Academy will offer accredited training programmes in Railway Engineering, Operations, Projects, Occurrence Investigation, and Safety-related courses. This will enable Transnet’s Engineers and Technicians to attain and maintain their professional registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and it will also improve safety performance as well as the essential rail network infrastructure maintenance skills.
As part of the agreement, the University of Pretoria has thus far conducted seven independent investigations on level 1 and 2 incidents to determine trends and recommend solutions to augment the current controls for Transnet Freight Rail. The relationship with the University has seen 3 307 Transnet employees graduating from the rail Occurrence Investigation Programme (ROIP) since the inception of the programme in 2013. This partnership will further amplify the number of employees qualified in this respect.
“By addressing skills deficiencies, enhancing employee productivity and fostering a culture of continuous learning, Transnet is taking decisive steps to build a more capable and engaged workforce, thus providing the necessary support to the Transnet Recovery Plan,” says Tumi Matsheka, Transnet Group Chief of People Management and Learning.
