Challenges in skills development in foundry industry in Gauteng

Abstract: Although a wide variety of casting processes entail the work in foundries, lack of sufficient engineering skills, education and training has become a major issue in recent years. This paper highlights the challenges faced by the foundry industry in South Africa. Majority of the metal castings in South Africa are done in Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. Difficulties in finding trained foundry men and pending retirements of experienced staff are the major challenges they face. In this paper we acknowledge the need for active interaction between the academia and foundry industry to further enhance suitable skills in the casting technology in small and medium enterprises. We propose a new model for skills development in the foundries in Gauteng. This model will have some measurable outcomes

The economic and social opportunities of casting technology for rural women

The study examines the economic and social opportunities of additive and casting technology. The Community Casting Project (CCP) is a University of Johannesburg Metal Casting Technology Station (UJ-MCTS) project aimed at converting community-based hand made jewellery and crafts into commercially viable, job creating entities, through a comprehensive number of interventions central to which is additive manufacturing and casting technology. This pilot project which is composed of two phases is the overture to the rollout of the larger project. The six-month pilot project aims to develop and test the business case for the casting technology at three community sites as well as the rollout requirements of the larger project in order to inform the sponsors for the complete project rollout. The paper analyses the rationale and the benefits of additive manufacturing and casting technology. The case study analyses the role of UJ-MCTS in transferring know-how and skills in additive manufacturing and casting technology in an attempt to bring about socio-economic transformation to rural and peri-urban areas of South Africa. The authors propose some opportunities to empower rural women to reap the benefits of additive manufacturing and casting technology to optimise their production processes

Technologies for SME development : focus Rustenburg incubator

Abstract: The study examines opportunities of technologies for the development of SMEs. Community Casting Project (CCP) is an initiative of the University of Johannesburg’s Metal Casting Technology Station (UJ MCTS). This project is a comm unity based jewellery making and job creating initiative through casting and other technologies. The first phase could help develop business cases, rollout of the technologies, initial casting training and ICT overviews at some community sites namely Limpo po and Rustenburg. Phase two of CCP focuses on collaboration with SMEs, supporting road shows, further marketing of products through ICTs, facilitating further training with special focus to Platinum incubators. UJ MCTS believes providing just the resources may not be good enough, but providing skills to use those technologies are crucial. The focus groups conducted at SEDA’s Rustenburg jewellery incubator determines the services offered by the jewellery incubator to the community. The group were keen to showcase their products and discuss the casting and other ICTs used by SMEs in SEDA’s Rustenburg incubator. The authors opine collaboration with institutions that use technologies for casting is essential for the sustainability of such SMEs