When the department of higher education and training launched the Decade of the Artisan campaign in 2014, Nelisiwe Duba could not believe her luck as she immediately saw this as her chance to pursue a career in the trades.
"I was still in high school when the campaign was launched," says Duba, from Ermelo in Mpumalanga.
The Decade of the Artisan campaign aims to produce 30,000 artisans per year by 2030, as indicated in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 and the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.
Since childhood, Duba, 24, always found joy in using her hands to fix and create things.
It is not surprising that eight years after the launch of the Decade of the Artisan, she is now a qualified artisan.
In 2022, she obtained a Mechanical Fitting and Turning qualification in Manufacturing and Construction of components from Sedibeng TVET College in Vereeniging.
Duba was among over 350 artisans from various Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges who graduated during the ceremony of the Centres of Specialisation ( that was recently held at Emperors Palace Hotel in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni.
The overjoyed Duba says she decided to pursue an artisanal career as she is a very creative and open-minded individual.
"Fitting and turning is a great fit for creative people. I also majored in mathematics and physical science in high school, and that helped me to meet the requirements needed for this course," Duba says.
She believes that artisanal careers can help people, especially the youth, open their own businesses.
"As artisans, we are highly skilled and have gifted hands. Because job opportunities are getting scarce in our country, artisanal careers can help people open their own business and create job opportunities for the youth."
Duba encourages young people to consider artisanal careers so that they can be independent.
