Programme Director,
Deputy Director General: Skills Branch of the Department Higher Education and Training in absentia
Executives and Staff from the MQA,
Chief Executive Officer of our Sister Organisation, our host Dr Motuku, his executive and staff
Representatives from Organised Labour from different unions, government departments, state entities including SETAs, civil society, institutions of learning, and media, mine communities, and training providers.
Our esteemed guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All protocols observed!
It is my distinct honour to address you at our 2nd edition of our Annual Research Colloquium. I extend a warm welcome to each of you and express my appreciation for your commitment to advancing the national skills development agenda. This gathering provides a valuable platform not only for knowledge exchange but also for reflection on how we can enhance the performance, relevance, and impact of skills demand and supply as the collective in the skills ecosystem.
My keynote address today is twofold. Firstly, I speak as the Accounting Authority, by virtue of the ministerial powers vested in me as the Board in the absence of a duly appointed MQA Board. Suffice it to say, the process of appointing the new MQA Board is underway, and many of you may already be aware of the developments in this regard. Secondly, I address you as the Accounting Officer, in my capacity as the Chief Executive Officer of the MQA.
As the Accounting Authority, I am particularly excited about the opportunity to reflect on the critical role that governance has played in shaping the future of skills development. It is important to acknowledge the past MQA Board, whose role deserves commendation. They played a pivotal role in ensuring that MQA’s governance structures were fit for purpose, thereby creating an enabling environment for impactful skills development. The Board ensured that good governance and ethical standards were upheld, positioning the MQA as a vital cog in the broader architecture of skills development in the mining and minerals sector.
At its core, governance is about ensuring that our actions, decisions, and policies are transparent, accountable, and aligned with the interests of the public and stakeholders we serve. In the context of the MQA, sound governance is the foundation upon which relevant, effective, and equitable skills development initiatives are built. The MQA Board, in executing its governance responsibilities, ensured that robust systems and processes were in place to manage resources, oversee programmes, projects, and continuously assess the organisation’s impact. The Board did not merely oversee operations; it actively guided the strategic direction of the Authority to ensure alignment with national skills development priorities. To this end, the Board established a clear vision and mandate creating a conducive environment for innovation, collaboration, and advancement in skills development. It carried out its oversight role with distinction, by ensuring that sound policies are instituted, key partnerships are fostered, and adequate resourcing for skills development initiatives.
Importantly, the Board ensured that the MQA operated within a financial framework that prioritised impact while ensuring that targets are met as well as upholding integrity, transparency, and accountability. This commitment to governance excellence bore tangible results: the MQA achieved 100% organisational performance over the past two years and maintained a clean audit for the past three consecutive years.
The incoming Board has a critical role to play in setting the vision and providing the governance leadership necessary to nurture and develop skills across all levels of the sector. With continued commitment to good governance, the MQA will remain a driving force in shaping a skilled, inclusive, and resilient mining workforce ready to meet both present and future challenges.
As the Accounting Officer, I would like to focus my remarks on the strategic execution of the MQA’s mandate particularly highlighting the role of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Executive Management team, and the crucial function of research in informing sectoral planning (conceptualisation and implementation of skills development interventions) and guiding our actions. But before delving into material aspects of my speech, I want to locate my speak on the role of the MQA as Sector Education and Training Authority is responsible for addressing sector specific issues within the Mining and Mineral Sector (MMS). Over the past five years, we have invested approximately R5.45 billion (R5,447,974,342) in our strategic and learning programmes. This substantial commitment reflects our unwavering dedication to developing skills and creating opportunities for South Africans across various sectors including in the MMS.
Our investment has supported a wide range of initiatives, including but not limited to:
- Artisan development, including support for Centres of Specialisation focused on producing artisans in fourteen priority trade occupations;
- Work Integrated Learning (WIL) placements;
- Learnerships targeting both employed and unemployed individuals;
- Adult Education and Training (AET);
- NATED courses and General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) programmes;
- Bursaries for students in TVET colleges, Universities of technology and mainstream universities
- Management and Executive Development Programmes for those in management in the mining companies
- Training and deployment of workplace coaches
- Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) programmes.
These programmes are designed not only to address skills shortages in critical areas but also to support the broader transformation of the workforce and increase the employability of participants. Our approach ensures we uplift both those who are currently employed and those seeking to enter the labour market.
In addition to programme implementation, we have also placed a strong emphasis on measuring impact. Over the same period, a series of impact and tracer studies were commissioned to assess the effectiveness, relevance, and return on investment of our various interventions. These studies have provided valuable insights into how our programmes have contributed to increased employability, workplace productivity, and career progression particularly among youth, women, and historically disadvantaged groups. The findings have helped us refine our approach, ensuring that our interventions are not only impactful but also aligned with labour market and industry needs and national development goals.
In the same five-year period, we have also disbursed over one billion (R1,474,879) in Mandatory Grants. These grants are paid to Skills Development Levy-paying employers who comply with legislative requirements by submitting WorkplaceSkills Plans (WSPs) and Annual Training Reports (ATRs), in accordance with the provisions of the Skills Development Act and the Skills Development Levies Act. This funding mechanism plays a vital role in promoting a culture of continuous learning and skills development within organisations, encouraging employers to actively invest in the growth and upskilling of their workforce. In an era defined by rapid technological advancement, digital transformation, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the relevance of Mandatory Grants has become even more pronounced.
By supporting structured training initiatives aligned to organisational and sectoral needs, Mandatory Grants help companies equip their employees with critical and future-oriented skills ranging from digital literacy and data analysis to advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity. This ensures that businesses remain competitive and agile, while workers are better prepared for evolving roles and emerging technologies.
Ultimately, this support contributes not only to the resilience and innovation capacity of companies but also to national economic growth and inclusive participation in the digital economy.
These investments are a testament to our commitment to building a capable, skilled, and inclusive workforce that can meet the demands of a dynamic and evolving economy.
Drawing lessons from our first Mining Skills Lekgotla as well the first edition of the MQA Research Colloquium held in September 2024, provided us with opportunity to gather critical insights into the progress and challenges in the skills development landscape, particularly in relation to artisanship and the evolving demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Drawing from past research projects, it became evident that there is a growing need for targeted, responsive interventions that align skills development with current and future industry requirements.
One of the most significant outcomes has been the strengthening of our capacity to ensure the effective absorption of workplace-based learning. We have since trained and deployed learner workplace coaches, a strategic initiative aimed at enhancing mentorship, improving learner support, and boosting completion and employment rates.
Our ongoing skills planning for the period 2025–2030 has been deeply informed by cutting-edge research, particularly in emerging sectors such as green hydrogen. The research indicates a significant and growing demand for specialised skills in this field, prompting us to take decisive action.
In response, together with CHIETA and TETA, we have established a Green Hydrogen Centre of Specialisation, hosted through a collaborative model involving a university, a university of technology, and a TVET college. This Centre is tasked with the development and delivery of tailored skills development programmes to meet the sector’s future workforce needs in the green hydrogen economy.
Furthermore, recognising the cross-cutting impact of digital transformation, we continue to support the implementation of digital literacy and Fourth Industrial Revolution skills programmes in the MMS. These are essential for equipping both current and future workers with the competencies required in an increasingly digitalised economy.
We also remain committed to the artisan development agenda. Our artisan training programme is designed to directly contribute to the achievement of the National Skills Development Plan (NSDP) Vision 2023, which targets the production of 30,000 artisans per annum. This initiative is crucial in addressing scarce skills, promoting youth employment, and supporting inclusive industrial growth.
While the Board of the MQA is entrusted with strategic oversight and policy direction, the responsibility for effective strategy execution lies with the Executive Management team of which I am part of. It is our role to translate vision into actionable programmes and ensure that the organisation’s daily operations deliver measurable, high-impact outcomes. This capacity to execute effectively depends not only on capable leadership and efficient systems but also on insights derived from rigorous, relevant, and timely research. Against this backdrop of strategy execution, research is not merely an academic pursuit; it is a strategic resource essential to effective execution. For the CEO and Executive Management to implement strategy with precision and foresight, their actions must be informed by scientific, empirical evidence and rigorous analysis.
Thus, research serves as a critical foundation, ensuring that strategy execution is evidence-based, responsive to context, and aligned with current and future skills demands for the mining and minerals sector. Research has played a foundational role in shaping these programmes and ensuring their relevance and effectiveness. Through impact studies, tracer studies, and labour market intelligence, we have assessed the real-world outcomes of our interventions. These insights have informed strategic adjustments, ensured alignment with labour market or mining industry needs, and enhanced our accountability to stakeholders.
In the scheme of things, within the MQA research plays a central and strategic role in guiding, informing, and refining our skills development interventions. It forms the backbone of evidence-based decision-making, ensuring that our investments are targeted, impactful, and aligned with sectoral skills needs, national priorities and global trends. Through labour market analyses including the Sectoral Skills Plan and updates, skills forecasting, tracer studies, and impact evaluations, we are able to:
- Identify current and future skills gaps across sub sectors and regions;
- Assess the effectiveness of learning interventions and training models;
- Track the outcomes of beneficiaries over time such as employment rates, income growth, career progression;
- Inform policy decisions and resource allocation with credible, data-driven insights;
- Stay ahead of technological and economic changes, ensuring that our programmes remain relevant in a rapidly evolving world of work.
Moreover, research enables us to engage more meaningfully with you stakeholders including industry, government, training providers, and communities by providing a shared foundation of knowledge upon which collaborative solutions can be built.
In short, research is not a parallel activity but a core driver of impact, innovation, and accountability within our skills development ecosystem.
Furthermore, research underpins robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes, ensuring that the organisation measures effectiveness accurately and adjusts strategies accordingly. It enhances MQA’s influence in policy and advocacy efforts by providing credible, data-driven insights that strengthen the Authority’s voice in national skills development discourse. Importantly, a research-driven culture promotes innovation and continuous improvement by embedding learning and reflective practice throughout the organisation. This strategic interplay between leadership and research is not optional, it is indispensable. Effective execution at MQA relies on governance for direction, executive leadership for implementation, and research for hindsight and insight. These elements together form the foundation of a high-performing, future-ready institution. As we participate in this colloquium, we must recognise that the strategic alignment of leadership and research is key to MQA’s continued success in transforming South Africa’s mining skills landscape.
Let us engage and share our best ideas, experiences, and practices on how research can inform the skilling of new entrants, as well as the reskilling, upskilling, and cross-skilling of the workforce through various models. This should be done in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders across the skills development ecosystem.
Such an approach will firmly position the MQA as a leading authority in skills development, offering thought leadership that is responsive to the ever evolving and diverse needs of its stakeholders within the Mining and Minerals Sector (MMS).
Ladies and gentlemen, as I conclude, I would like to encourage meaningful engagements, critical feedback for the research studies to be presented and informed inputs in to the MQA research agenda with effective and efficient collaboration to ensure impactful partnerships to deal the complex changes faced by the MMS from a skills development point of view.
Ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome is on offer and thank you very much for your time and attention and enjoy the rest of the proceedings.
DR THABO MASHONGOANE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MQA