Beaufort West, Hantam, Kannaland, Karoo Hoogland, Khâi-Ma, Laingsburg, Oudtshoorn, Prince Albert
15/01/22 11h00
15/01/22 22h00
Discussion: Showers and thundershowers are expected to develop over the interior of the Namakwa as well as the Central and Little Karoo from early afternoon, where some may become severe with quick and heavy downpours (30-40mm/hour) which can lead to flash flooding as well as possible large amounts of small hail (diameter of 2cm and less).
Impact: Localised flash flooding of susceptible roads, low-lying areas and bridges (main concern being the N1 and the Swartberg Pass) which can lead to difficult driving conditions especially where the roads are slippery due to the combination of hail and pooling of water on the roads and the heavy downpour that can reduce visibility. This may contribute to minor vehicle accidents and longer travel times. Localised damage to infrastructure and settlements (mainly informal) and localised and short term disruption to municipal and other essential services are also possible.
Instruction: If possible stay indoors away from metal objects. Do not seek shelter under trees or tall objects. Do not go fishing or play golf as both the golf clubs and fishing rods are good conductors of electricity. Be aware that any combination of hail, strong winds and/or heavy downpours can accompany the storms.
Legal notice: “This warning from SA Weather Service must be communicated as received and may not be altered under any circumstance. It must be forwarded or communicated in its entirety and no portion hereof may be replicated or copied and distributed.”
SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE
Cape Town Weather Office
2nd Floor: Oval Office Park
Cape Town Int airport
Freight Road
Matroosfontein
Cape Town
Quarterly Skills Mecca Forum draws experts from LGSETA
Media Release 25 November 2021
On Friday, 19 October 2021, the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) hosted a virtual Skills Mecca forum attended by the general public, public and private sectors. The forum served as a platform to discuss matters relating to skills development in the Garden Route.
The meeting was chaired by Aneeka Jacobs, Provincial Manager of the Western Cape Local Government Seta (LGSETA). During her opening address, Jacobs emphasised that LGSETA wants to work with all stakeholders, partners, local and district municipalities, as well as training colleges to “bring business and people closer to the table”. She further stressed the importance of synergy between all involved to ensure that the process is collaborative.
Aneeka Jacobs, Provincial Manager of LGSETA, chaired the quarterly forum.
Some stakeholders attended the meeting in person.
More of the stakeholders who attended the meeting in person.
Ineeleng Molete (Chief Executive Officer of LGSETA) explained the implications for Garden Route stakeholders on the support from LGSETA and how it aligns with the District Development Model (DDM).
During his presentation, Molete discussed the following:
District Development Model (DDM)
The DDM was launched in 2019 and is an integrated strategic framework that allows the three different spheres of government (national, provincial, and local) to function in unison. The framework promotes:
synergy;
cooperation;
coordination;
collaboration; and
integration of service delivery areas.
According to Molete, the DDM forms a basis for a single joint plan that will address skills gaps at district and metropolitan levels, which – in turn – will help alleviate and eventually eradicate poverty, inequality and unemployment. Furthermore, the model will look at the needs of local communities, including youth development, whilst improving the management and support for integrated planning, addressing gap areas or blockages.
“The Skills Mecca places Local Economic Development (LED) as a central component for Skills development Job Creation.”
Investing in skills development will help:
Enhance good governance, leadership and management capabilities;
Promote sound financial management and financial viability;
Enhance infrastructure and service delivery; and
Promote spatial transformation and inclusivity.
Garden Route Skills Mecca
Dr Florus Prinsloo (GRSM Coordinator) and Reginald Salmons (GRDM Skills Development Coordinator) presented the latest news of the GRSM.
Prinsloo announced that the construction of the GRSM website is almost complete, and it should go live early January 2022. The website aims to centralise information, facilitate communication and serve as a portal for employers, service providers and trainee candidates to interact using databases. Further announcements and dates will be communicated on social media in due course.
Reginald Salmons explained that these technicians would hopefully be employed on a three-year term contract, during which they will be developed against the competencies for professional designations as determined by the professional body in South Africa, namely the Association of Skills Development of South Africa. Once their contracts end, each technician will be able to apply for formal designations that will enhance their employability.
During his closing remarks, Prinsloo said: “We hope to see employers approach us, asking for help to complete SETA applications, as they pay levies to SETAs every month.”
The final presentation was presented by Melanie Wilson (GRDM Manager: Economic Development and Tourism) and Mr Paul Hoffman (Project Manager at GRDP). They discussed the following during their presentation.
The GRDM Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) provides a framework strategy for the Garden Route for the next 20 years. The strategy is long term risk-based and takes the impact of COVID-19 into account through a GRDM Economic Recovery Plan. A Garden Route Development Partnership was established between the government and private sector to implement both plans.
GDS focus areas were identified and aligned to DDM. They are:
A water-secure future;
A circular economy;
Resilient agriculture;
Sustainable tourism;
Supporting well-being and resilience;
A connected economy: transport and rural-urban integration and ICT; and
Sustainable local energy transition.
Hoffman added that the private sector would be more involved, as this cannot be done without them.
The next forum meeting, taking place on 25 February 2022, will be communicated via the Garden Route District Municipality’s social media pages, stakeholders like the business chambers, local economic development officers from local municipalities and others.
To view slides that were presented at the forum, click on the links below:
Captions:Feature Image: Stakeholders who attended the forum (from left to right);Lerato Tshefu, Trix Holtzhausen, Bertus Hayward Ineeleng Molete, Stephen De Vries, Aneeka Jacobs, Florus Prinsloo, Reginald Salmons
The Cape Town Weather Office has issued impact based warnings for (1) Level 8 Damaging Winds and (2) Level 2 Damaging Waves for the Western Cape and Namaqua Region of Northern Cape as follows:
Legal notice:
“This warning from SA Weather Service must be communicated as received and may not be altered under any circumstance. It must be forwarded or communicated in its entirety and no portion hereof may be replicated or copied and distributed.”
Report any weather related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at 044-805 5071.
Media Release: Another 22 students to reap fruits from Garden Route DM Cater Care Programme
For Immediate Release
28 October 2021
A successful partnership of approximately ten (10) years between the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and the Francois Ferreira Academy (FFA) continues as GRDM recently appointed them for three (3) more years until 2023. Youth continue to be equipped with vital skills in the hospitality industry after Council availed R450 000.00 for this programme for the next 12 months.
With plenty of opportunities offered by the hospitality and tourism industry, previously disadvantaged youth are the core focus of the programme.
The FFA received 300 applications, of which 63 were shortlisted for interviews. After that, 22 youth were selected to be part of the programme. The interview panel consisted of officials and lecturers from the FFA and GRDM Tourism and EPWP representatives.
Three (3) weeks into the programme and students already completed their theoretical training. They started practical cooking classes on 25 October, which will end on 17 November 2021. Students will apply this knowledge in the kitchen. Towards the end of November 2021, students will be given the opportunity to enter the industry to get on-job training and experience. The training programme will end in December 2021, and the certificate handover ceremony will take place during mid-January 2022.
Today, during a ‘meet-and-greet’ by the GRDM Deputy Executive Mayor, Alderlady Rosina Ruiters and Cllr Erica Meyer, Alderlady Ruiters encouraged students to seize every opportunity they are given in life and to grab it with both hands. She wished them well with the training programme and all their future endeavors.
WEBINAR: GARDEN ROUTE SKILLS MECCA – 5 OCTOBER 2021
Capacity Building for Skills Development Providers
You are invited to attend our upcoming Garden Route Skills Mecca Capacity Building Session. Through this engagement, we wish to bring all skills development providers, both public and private, interested in becoming part of the Garden Route Skills Mecca process on board.
This session will allow stakeholders to gain insights into our programme offerings and build their capacity when applying to become accredited providers in South Africa.
Applications are invited from students currently receiving tuition at Tertiary or Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and learners who are currently Grade 12 or have passed Grade 12, for financial assistance towards further studies during the 2022 academic year. The financial contribution by GRDM, is restricted to full-time study and attendance at SAQA accredited tertiary, or TVET institutions. This is ONLY applicable to students whose parents permanently reside within the Garden Route municipal area.
Application forms are available at the GRDM and satellite offices during normal office hours (Monday – Thursday 07:30 – 16:30; Friday 07:30 – 13:30). Application forms are also available from the GRDM’s website at www.gardenroute.gov.za.
THE GARDEN ROUTE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY WILL ONLY CONSIDER COMPLETED APPLICATIONS AND IF THE DOCUMENTS MENTIONED BELOW HAVE BEEN INCLUDED.
A detailed Curriculum Vitae and cover letter, application form, and certified copies of the following documentation must be attached: Latest or Grade 12 results or equal qualification; latest examination results of students currently enrolled at tertiary institutions; certified copy of I.D.; affidavit of parents’ combined income and proof of residential address (municipal account).
Please forward the application form and all documents to: Records, Garden Route District Municipality, 54 York Street, P.O. Box 12, George 6530, for attention: Training and Development Section.
For any enquiries, do not hesitate to contact:
Mr Reginald Salmons at 044 803 1363,
Ms Angeline Naidoo at 044 803 1420 /or
Mrs Angela-Ziva Coetzee at 044 803 1344, during office hours.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Should candidates not be contacted within two-months of the closing date, they must consider their application as unsuccessful.
Media Release: Paving the way forward: Garden Route Skills Mecca collaborates with CATHSSETA on open platform
For Immediate Release 8 September 2021
The Garden Route Skills Mecca (GRSM) team, under the stewardship of the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), spearheads progressive engagements with stakeholders to ensure that information about skills development in the Garden Route is accessible, understood and embraced. One recent intervention was to draw the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality, and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority, a Sector Education and Training Authorities (CATHSSETA) closer to ‘home’. This was done by discussing matters pertaining to funding, registration, accreditation and how COVID-19 has impacted their systems and processes, amongst others.
“The session included a wide array of stakeholders, in particular those who deal with CATHSSETA (hotels, B&Bs, AirBNBs, resorts, etc.) and Local Economic Development (LED) representatives from all seven (7) local municipalities (Bitou, Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, Greater Oudtshoorn, Kannaland and Hessequa) in the Garden Route,” said Alderman Memory Booysen, Executive Mayor for GRDM. “My Council has also taken note of the GRSM’s quarterly forum and its progressive implementation methodology, which involves frequent stakeholder collaboration,” said Booysen.
CATHSSETA attended the last forum held on 20 August and decided to approach the GRSM Skills Coordinator, Dr Florus Prinsloo, about a future collaboration with the GRSM. Dr Prinsloo then acted swiftly by arranging a platform where stakeholders could iron out matters concerning the Sector.
The presentation by Martha Collett, who is responsible for looking after the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape on behalf of CATHSSETA, was done concisely and to the point. She provided comprehensive details to local District Stakeholders about developments in the Sector. At the start of her presentation, she said: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution has been accelerated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. E-learning is now becoming the norm, and we have to all think differently about the mode in which we deliver education”.
One of the critical questions she posed was: “Are we preparing learners for the workplace of the future?”
She further elaborated about the type of sub-sectors included in CATHSSETA by saying that if a person unpacks the representation of each Sector in our SETA, the representation looks as follows:
Culture and Heritage and Art 7%;
Conservation 4%;
Travel and Tourism 9%;
Hospitality 72%;
Sport, Recreation and Fitness 7%;
Gaming and lotteries 1%; and
95% of stakeholders are from the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Sector.
Stakeholders, especially employers, were encouraged to keep an eye out for the next ‘Discretionary Funding’ window that will open in November 2021. Already, the Hospitality Sector in the District can start planning to take on learners into their business as the economy hopefully re-opens and Tourism picks up as South Africa moves through Spring into Summer.
Similar engagements with other SETAs are also planned by the GRDM Skills Mecca Team to keep the region up to date with all possible opportunities for learning and development.
The Garden Route District Municipality Skills Mecca (GRSM) in collaboration with the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality, and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA), will engage on 8 September 2021 from 10:00 until 13:00.
The purpose of this engagement is to update stakeholders of the CATHSSETA Sector on the GRSM and the latest developments at CATHSSETA. Relevant members of the public are invited to attend this.
Here is how you can join the proceedings: Zoom: https://cutt.ly/GWxERxq | Meeting ID: 912 3990 4456 | Pass: 983169
Or via Youtube.
Call to Register: EPWP Contractor Development Programme – Apply today!
Emerging contractors are invited to register for the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Contractor Development Programme that is driven by the Department of Transport and Public Works’ EPWP.
The programme was designed to support emerging contractors in the Western Cape.
The objective of contractor development is to implement structured programmes that facilitate the development of emerging enterprises within the construction industry through skills and business enhancement initiatives. This will enable them to compete effectively and independently in the open marked beyond state intervention.
Media Release: Skills Mecca to become central to job and skills alignment in the Garden Route
For Immediate Release 15 June 2021
South Africans have almost become immune to bad news as day to day survival remains for many the single most important priority, especially with the arrival of COVID 19 and the world of Lockdown. Many of us would probably not even realised that on 1 June 2021, Statistics South Africa (STATS SA) released the first quarter of 2021 Labour Force survey that shows the official national unemployment stands at 32,6%. This is the highest unemployment rate since the start of the Labour Force survey in 2008. Although the Western Cape is somewhat better off at 23,7%, the smaller percentage makes no difference to those still unemployed and without a job.
Turning such a catastrophic scenario around in a long term sustainable manner is only possible through targeted economic growth and development. This is why the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) developed 20-year Growth and Development Strategy. A well-designed strategy requires a solid foundation with many cross-cutting enablers, one of which is skills development.
A critical question then arises: “What are the skills requirements and challenges that constrain this priority area?”
The GRDM and its relevant stakeholders have ramped up efforts to roll out the Garden Route Skills Mecca (GRSM). A dedicated GRSM Coordinator, Dr Florus Prinsloo, has subsequently been appointed by the GRDM. Dr Prinsloo has already established an internal task team, as well as an external stakeholder forum. An implementation plan for the Skills Mecca have been finalised and submitted to the Management of GRDM, the Municipal Managers Forum of the District (MMF) and a Council workshop today for further deliberations and input in the month of June. The next step is to develop a website where residents of the Garden Route can access up to date information on the GRSM.
Another essential part of the GRSM concept is establishing a clear link between skills development and jobs, which will only be possible by the GRSM team working closely with Local Economic Development (LED) Units at each municipality in the Garden Route. This approach will help to inform decisions by utilising demand-based methods toward skills development. This means that economic demand would need to be linked to skills development projects and programmes. This will result in people studying towards careers where there are jobs vacant.
A partnership-based approach is the only way that such an ambitious process will succeed. At the moment, a pressing and challenging risk faced is the lack of funding available for skills development. Creating partnerships between all the relevant public and private sector is vital to the success of this programme. However, the GRDM is engaging all economic levels to try and source funding for this innovative approach to skills development and job creation.
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