Cold Link Africa January / February 2020 | Page 4

NEWS INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN OTTC ‘Skills City’ gains traction By Ntsako Khosa T ADVERTISING SALES External sales: Dale Macnamara [email protected] Zeldalee du Toit [email protected] skills development in the industry OTTC held a stammtisch to share event is testament of the fact. Overall, From left: (back row) Thorsten Deckler from 2610 South Architects, Heribert Baumeister, (front row) Karsten Beermann, Anne Graupner and Isolde Döbelin. 4 www.coldlinkafrica.co.za PUBLISHING UNIT LEAD: Dale Macnamara [email protected] STAFF WRITER: Ntsako Khosa [email protected] o further enforce their stance on future prospects. Held at the training facility in Springs last year, the informal networking event brings together artisans, old and new, to connect. Director of OTTC, Isolde Döbelin, sets things in motion by welcoming everyone and introducing two of the long-standing German supporters of the training institute, Karsten Beermann, MD of German company I-K-K-E. and German association BIV federal, Heribert Baumeister. Beermann has been a patronage of the OTTC since 1998. Both take special care in the interests of refrigeration and training. Baumeister has been president of Bundes Innungs Verband – Handwerkskammer Germany (BIV) (Federal Guild Association) for over 30 years. As founder of the association it aims to increase the competence of its member companies in terms of their technological, creative and business quality setting Standards for all trades together with the Government and giving the refrigeration and air conditioning equipment industry a positive public profile. Döbelin unpacked the purpose of the Centre highlighting that it aims to give a practical approach to training. She hopes to extend the training to plumbing, electrical, solar and house technicians. “Students need to be multitasked and be empowered to start their own businesses once they graduate,” she said. The Centre believes it trains people to work anywhere in the world, the yearly involvement in students being selected for the annual World Skills COLD LINK AFRICA PUBLISHED BY Interact Media Defined (Pty) Ltd 13A Riley Rd, Bedfordview 2009, South Africa PO Box 695, Edenvale, 1610 Tel: [phone] | Fax: [phone] Web: www.interactmedia.co.za SUBSCRIPTIONS: Maxlee Marange | [email protected] Ralph Shongwe | [email protected] SUB-EDITOR: Tarren Bolton [email protected] DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Glyniss Bone [email protected] PROCESS CO-ORDINATOR: Lebo Bucibo [email protected] The copper-built Skills City set to create a benchmark for artisan training in the industry. MANAGEMENT Finance/operations: Sean Macnamara [email protected] Finance: Laetitia Arnott [email protected] PRINTING: TYPO DISTRIBUTION: [email protected] CIRCULATION: Jan - June 2019 Total free distribution 2725 ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY PRINTING All paper is sourced from the Forest Stewardship Council and Chain of Custody-certified suppliers. All waste paper from the plant is recycled. All used plates are recycled. All new printing equipment is purchased for low energy-consumption levels and low volatile organic-compound emissions. (right) Isolde Döbelin with Heribert Baumeister (left), one of the long standing supporters of OTTC. Döbelin believes that qualified artisans should be able to take any job they are given. She further instils motivation to work among students and to have fun and enjoy work they are doing. Anne Graupner from 2610 South Architects and Urban Designers shared the plan to enhance skills development within the Centre and trade with an expansion project. A model, using copper, was built to show what the proposed development would look like where students could stay on while studying. This was placed at the back of the meeting room. Graupner and her partner, Thorsten Deckler developed a Skills City framework that will see skills offering at OTTC empowering people. “In order to get to a design that would see OTTC objectives achieved, we had to consider the natural landscape and typography of the location when planning the skills programme. We wanted to create a work-play balance that includes amenities like a hotel and conference centre, ice rink, pool, and creché,” she explained. An incubation hub is the heart of the innovation that will equip qualified artisans with business skills for the outside world. Döbelin motivated that the City may have a boarding school for students to stay and complete their 1 – 2 year courses. It’ll further offer growth in one place allowing students to work in factories adjacent. One of the other outcomes of the City is to create a franchise so that skills development is passed on from old to new entrants. “Nobody should be unemployed. We have so much work to do,” she enthused. German visitors shared their excitement for the project emphasising that they fully back the Centre and give the City a thumbs up. Baumeister shared that their association has been in partnership with OTTC since 1989 to bring forth skills and plans for trade education. “We have the materials to support the Skills City plan and look forward to seeing the results thereof,” he said. Snacks and a light lunch where offered after the proceedings giving attendees to network. 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