Engineering News reports that the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (Chieta) has opened a new Smart Skills Centre in Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo, to bridge the digital skills divide.

This brings to six the number of Smart Skills Centres opened in rural SA since October 2022. According to CEO Yershen Pillay, Chieta plans to have opened a Smart Skills Centre in each of the country's provinces by March 2025. “We are committed to taking Smart Skills Centres to rural areas to ensure nobody is left behind in the digital space,” he explained. According to Chieta, more than 12,000 people from poor and rural communities have already benefited from the Smart Skills Centres which it has established. The Modjadjiskloof Smart Skills Centre is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, including Smart boardrooms for startups and small, medium-sized and microenterprises and virtual reality (VR) machines to train artisans. It also offers accredited training courses paid for by Chieta. “We live in a digital-first world. Many people in Modjadjiskloof and surrounding communities do not have access to the Internet and cannot afford data. Some have never used VR technology before. This centre will ensure that the communities of Modjadjiskloof are not left behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution," Pillay indicated. The next centre is planned for Gauteng, where Chieta says it plans to collaborate with glass product manufacturer PG Group.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News

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