Sanelisiwe Mabaso

The Durban University of Technology recently launched the Hlomisa Skills Academy. The Academy aims to contribute towards resolving several people management and human resource problems the university faces.

According to Alan Khan, the Senior Director of Corporate affairs at DUT, the Academy is intended to create transformation programmes that will empower the DUT community.

“The purpose of the Academy is to set up empowerment and training programmes that will help us to transform many more of our people so that they perform at the best of their potential and capabilities. It will help to identify A-teamers to ensure that they grow personally and professionally, not by default but by design,” said Khan in a statement.

To celebrate the new Academy, DUT hosted a launch event at the Hotel School at Ritson Campus on Friday evening.

The event included talks from the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Durban University of Technology, Prof Thandwa Mthembu, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Moyo, and Dr. Mohale; there were announcements from Mr. Z Ngubane and a keynote address from Prof Kgaphela.

In his speech, Prof Kgaphela spoke about the practice of leadership in the African context and the important role young people have in society.

“Academia needs to reclaim the authority of knowledge generation and learning so that our young people will grow and can distinguish between one kind of leader and another kind,” he said.

Musa Thema, an awardee of the Hlomisa Skills Leadership Academy said he was honoured to be part of the new initiative and had great hope for the future.

“I feel very honoured to be part of a  profound initiative because it gives me the opportunity to grow in terms of capacity as a leader, which is the contribution I have always wanted to do because I see myself as someone the country can benefit from. This platform is community-based and will produce a new generation of leaders that are not capacitated in terms of ground-based leaders but also with a background on knowledge. I look forward to going through the entire process,” he said.