BUSINESS AND TRAINING
It was a long, arduous journey for Modibe that began
in June 2015. The final practical exam in late 2017
focused on mould and die making, and candidates for this
especially tough trade test go through a gruelling process of
fabricating various tools used in the manufacturing process.
Most candidates, ensuring that their products meet the
requisite specifications, test these before submitting them
— the failure rate is high.
Cobra candidates, however, usually complete their work and
hand in their final submissions without testing. This is not a
sign of recklessness on their part, but a testament to the level
of confidence they have in their training.
“The fault tolerance for passing the fitting and turning exam
is 0.5, but our fault tolerance throughout our training is
set at 0.02,” says Modibe. “In our manufacturing process,
we can’t allow for any errors — one mistake can cost
thousands of rands in material — so we make sure our
work plans are extremely meticulous.
“The quality of training we get at Cobra is the best in the
industry. When we come into the examination, other people
taking the tests start to panic because we set the bar so
high, and that’s thanks to the strict discipline expected of
us,” he says. “We’re all very fortunate and thankful that we
had a unique opportunity to work with such great mentors
throughout this process.”
Thirty-year-old Modibe is one of the four Cobra graduates,
along with Kevin Burger (22), Solomon Lebakeng (27),
and Mark Strydom (25), to have successfully completed
their toolmaking apprenticeships. They are now gradually
being integrated into the toolmaking facility at the Cobra
manufacturing plant in Krugersdorp, which currently
employs a total of 800 people.
Since launching its apprenticeship programme in the
1960s, the company has helped build up the foundation
of the skills in the factory in the trades of toolmakers,
electricians, millwrights, turners, millers, welders, pattern
makers, and machine setters, to mention a few. From the
late 1970s, the company only focused on tool and die
makers and millwrights.
This programme ran until 2005, when it lost momentum
due to a lack of funding. In 2012, the programme was
restarted and since then it has produced a 100% pass
rate to date, with 12 tool and die makers finishing their
apprenticeships. Some have found jobs in-house while
others are employed in the industry. The programme will
see the reintroduction of millwrights later in 2018.
“Toolmaking is a highly specialised and relatively
unknown discipline in the field of engineering,” says
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
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Burger. “You need to have a very focused and disciplined
mindset and when working, you need to think at least
four steps ahead; you can’t measure as you go — you
measure 10 times and cut once.”
In 2014, the Department of Higher Education and
Training (DHET) launched the Decade of the Artisan
Programme, aimed at promoting artisanship as a career
choice for young people. The current average age of
artisans is well over 50 years old, and at the time of the
launch of the programme, South Africa produced only
12 000 artisans a year. The DHET aims to produce at
least 30 000 artisans to support the country’s Strategic
Infrastructure Programmes (SIPs).
A recent report by Xpatweb revealed that 75% of
companies admit they actively seek international talent to fill
their skills needed, despite the onerous visa requirements
— among the most critical skills cited, are artisans. In
an effort to produce specialised skills, the DHET recently
announced that South Africa’s 50 technical vocational
education and training (TVET) colleges would soon start
specialising in teaching certain trades.
The development of local, sophisticated skills in
engineering, construction, and manufacturing is key to
controlling costs and sustainably developing the economy,
where unemployment has been well over 25% since the
second quarter of 2016.
“We’re one of only a few companies in South Africa that
still does the highly specialised function of toolmaking,”
Lebakeng says. “Many engineering companies have
resorted to importing their moulds and dies, which is
becoming extremely expensive. Toolmaking capability
is crucial to the engineering field, because every
manufactured item that has a shape is manufactured using
a mould or die of some type, and these precision products
are made by us toolmakers.”
While it is expensive to train, employ, and develop a
toolmaker, and the mentorship process is intensive and
requires mentors’ skill and patience, the long-term benefits
are without comparison. The ability to support South Africa’s
manufacturing industry with originally fabricated precision
moulds and dies is priceless in that it makes the mass-
production of thousands of high-quality manufactured
products possible — and it liberates the sector from
dependence on expensive and time-consuming imports.
Cobra remains committed to developing young people
in these crucial skills. This investment will be key to
growing South Africa’s manufacturing industry by
ensuring that sustainable, cost-effective skills are
nurtured and grown locally. PA
October 2018 Volume 24 I Number 8