According to Dr Cynthia Malinga, technical education programs manager for the Sasol Foundation, teachers and learners participate in separate competitions - according to their levels. It aims to develop skills at an early age.

This competition aims to promote trade skills, as well as showcase various career options in these trades. The trades include, welding, woodwork, electrical work, baking and brick laying among others.

She added that contestants need to continually sharpen their skills in particular trades to deliver a good product or successful technical process.

This year is the first time teachers from the Free State could also enter the competition.

She added that the learners and teachers get scored by judges while they are making or building their respective entry. These judges are experts in the technical field.

“There are prizes at different levels of the competition from schools, district, province, and now inter-provincial. Prizes largely include tools and equipment that one needs as an artisan,” she said.

She also added that all learners from technical and vocational schools can enter and progress to the next levels. All teachers enter at district level and progress to the next level.

This event is hosted by the Sasol Foundation, Kagiso Trust and the FS Department of Education.

Sasol Foundation has partnered this year with Kagiso Trust to launch the Teachers Skills Competition which will run concurrently with the leaner competition this year.

She said that for learners, this is the fifth competition in Free State only. For teachers, this is the first one and it is interprovincial, hosted in Free State.

We hope to hold it every year, growing both teacher and learner competitions to a national level, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education.

Entries for this year’s competition is closed and the prize giving is taking place tomorrow at Louis Botha Technical High School in Bloemfontein.

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