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Mineworkers Development Agency (MDA)
MDA was created in 1987 as a job creation wing of NUM and was transformed into a Section 21 non-profit organisation in 1995. The MDA has 21 years of developmental experience in job-creation and small micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs), through facilitation of services and project management.
MDA receives an average donation of R7 million per annum
from MIT.
- Programming can be divided into four broad elements:
- Skills development for employed and retrenched mine, energy
and construction workers- Social development in communities
- Educational support
- SMME development and community economic empowerment
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JB Marks Education Trust Fund was founded in 1997 by NUM. The Education Trust was named after JB Marks, the first president of the African Mineworkers Union.
The trust fund's mandate is to support the further education of mine, energy and construction workers and their dependants, with a bias towards the sciences and engineering disciplines. The overriding aim of the fund is to alter the fabric of the mining, energy and construction sectors by increasing the number of black graduates entering into these sectors.
Since inception, over two thousand students have been assisted with bursaries, with a 49% female and 51% male ratio. The fund continues to target the advancement of female students, in particular in maths and science related fields. Currently fifty percent of bursars are female.
The JB Marks bursary provides payment of the following fees: Registration, Tuition, Examination, Bridging courses, Text books and On-Campus accommodation. In addition, a member's immediate family, spouse and dependant children also qualify to apply for a JB Marks Bursary.
Five key disciplines account for 75% of the funding. They are:
- Accounting, commerce, business administration and
management- Engineering (mechanical, civil, chemical, electrical,
metallurgical and mining)- Organisational management skills (human resource
development, industrial relations, labour relations,
environmental health, health and safety, industrial psychology
and public relations)- Information Technology and technical studies
- Professional degrees - legal, medical, architectural, surveying
The educational fund is supported by MIT through an annual allocation of between R5 million and R5,5 million towards bursaries and associated educational costs.
There are a number of commonalities between the students and we note the following:
- They started school earlier than most children
- Foundation phase was at a farm school or small urban primary school but high school was city based
- Their parents encouraged them to study and take school seriously
- During primary school the students tended to enjoy their own company and didn’t show leadership qualities until much later
- They all have a love for learning and enquiring minds and they all liked science and maths
- They also all serve on the JB Marks Core Team, giving back, volunteering time and offering support to new students.
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Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre (EBMTC)
The Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre (EBMTC) was opened in 1993 to assist in the education and training of members and leadership.
The centre is a section 21 company and is named after the late Elijah Barayi - the first president of Cosatu and former vice-president of NUM.
EBMTC is a residence based training facility utilised by NUM members to engage in a range of interactive training programmes on a weekly basis. When the centre is not being used for NUM related training activities its facilities are hired out, with the charge-out rate being kept as low as possible to ensure that the centre remains affordable to a broad range of organisations.
The EBMTC plays a critical role in developing a breadth and depth of leadership skills within the NUM and Labour in general. In doing so, it contributes to the stabilization of industrial relations in the mine, energy and construction sectors, and ensures a welleducated workforce, equipped to serve the needs and realities of a growing South African economy.
In partnership with established educational institutions, the EBMTC college has developed a range of certified educational courses for NUM members. These courses train more than 500 people every year, and EBMTC continues to drive course work development.
EBMTC courses include computer training, basic economics, business writing, and leadership courses, amongst a range of other practical topics.
Through MIT a new state of the art college has recently been acquired for
R15 million and is to be opened in Midrand, Gauteng during 2009. MIT donations will ensure that the training centre is well maintained and assists with meeting any shortfall in operational cost.
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Links:
Mineworkers Development Agency (MDA)
