Toyota SA puts R42-million into training

On Tuesday (August 8), Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) announced the creation of the Toyota Empowerment Trust (TET), which has been set up to focus on skills and enterprise-development initiatives in the automotive industry.

With R42 million in start-up funding, TET will initially facilitate the training and qualification of specialised automation technicians.

“The Toyota Empowerment Trust will implement training and enterprise-development initiatives alongside, and in support of, our other education initiatives. These include our Toyota Teach programme that supports over nine primary schools and our Toyota Technical Education Programme (T-TEP) that supports, and often manages, technical high schools in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng,” says Andrew Kirby, president and CEO of TSAM.

While TSAM will start training in January 2018, Toyota has already started with the development of a fully equipped robotics and automation training facility in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. This facility will train technicians in the maintenance of complex manufacturing equipment, such as welding and spray-painting robots.

In addition to the training, it is envisaged that TET will eventually be able to support qualified technicians to start their own maintenance firms and offer this highly sought-after specialist service to Toyota and other vehicle manufacturers in South Africa.

“I trust that many of the trainees will find employment at our plant or, in the case of prospective small business owners, a stable base of work from where they can expand their services to other manufacturers,” Kirby concludes.