Latest Articles

Martina van Heerden, University of the Western Cape

This article is not strictly related to occupational health, but is published as it is of general relevance.

Careers in the maritime industry can take graduates all over the world. 

SA Universities need to rethink how they evaluate research: social impact counts too. Current approaches to assessing researchers’ outputs fall short. 

Andiswa Mfengu, University of Cape Town

South Africa is failing its youngest children – report flags critical gaps in early learning, social protection and health care

This week, the Daily Maverick reported on the sentencing of the former  Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pieter Hendrick Bothma. It has taken 17 years, but the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) finally prevailed. 

Many of the most recent entrants to the skills development world may still have been at school or studying, and the rest of us had probably forgotten about the events leading to this sentence, so a brief explanation is required. 

Our condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and comrades of Membathisi Mdladlana. A very sad loss of the initiator of the skills development concept and landscape. Known as Shepherd, with years of leadership in teacher associations and the Democratic Teachers Union, as Minister of Labour, he shepherded in the skills development revolution. 

Reading any of the original publications of the then Department of Labour, and the concept of social justice and redress of past exclusion is clearly apparent in the words and graphic illustrations.  

It would be all too easy to criticise the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) right now, however, it is very clear from the wording of the documents issued by the department that the complexity of the skills development domain is not clearly understood. Firstly, there was the question of the Ministerial title – Minister of Higher Education – it appeared that skills development was forgotten. 

This is a copy of a letter sent to Thomas Lata, Chief Director at the QCTO as published on the ASDSA WhatsApp group and on LinkedIn. 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lynel-farrell-83853411_another-training-provider-closes-down-and-activity-7235227720807309317-rNLq?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

An Editorial comment will follow shortly.

"Dear Mr Lata,

Imagine your school child walking home from school - in the dark, along a notoriously dangerous, unlit road. An eleven year old school boy was left behind in Simonstown when the Golden Arrow bus driver refused to let him board with his two siblings. He could not find his card. His home is in Khayelitsha – 35 kilometres away

https://www.kaya959.co.za/news/golden-arrow-bus-services-suspends-driver-for-refusing-11-year-old-on-board/