Over 1,000 people visited the Western Cape government’s Career Resilience Outreach Workshops that took place at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha last week to provide support for those affected by the winding down of the ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) steel plant, and the community of Saldanha Bay. 

The workshops were hosted by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in collaboration with the Department of Local Government, and included representatives from several national, provincial and local government departments and agencies who provided a range of services and advice on workers’ rights, financial planning, starting a business, re-training, applying for a new job and CV support for example.  

Feedback from those who attended the workshop was very positive. Phikiswa Nketshe travelled from Vredenburg to attend the workshop: “I came to see SARS and to find out whether there are learnership opportunities available. Most importantly, I want to start my own catering business, so I completed forms at the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to complete training on how to run a business.”

While Alungile Mapitiza, also from Vredenburg, said, “I attended the workshop to find out what opportunities are available for youth. I completed learnership and scholarship application forms at the NYDA. I also gained knowledge about the agriculture industry and received contacts within the agriculture industry.” 

These workshops are one of many initiatives being run by the task team established by the Provincial Minister for Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, for the purpose of mitigating the impact of a possible closure of the AMSA steel plant.  

Minister David Maynier said: “We are really glad that so many people, including those affected by the winding down of the AMSA steel works plant, made use of the services available at the workshops. A massive thank you to all involved in these successful workshops. We remain committed to working together with government and business stakeholders to continue growing the regional economy.” 

Commenting on the workshops, Executive Mayor of Saldanha Bay Municipality, Marius Koen, echoed these sentiments, “We are extremely pleased with the turnout of the career resilience workshops. Saldanha Bay Municipality received positive feedback from all those who attended. We believe these workshops were beneficial to each person present. I would like to thank all government departments, institutions and partners for their participation and their valuable assistance and service.” 

Career resilience workshops planned for workers in Saldanha Bay affected by winding down of ArcelorMittal steel plant

We are committed to supporting the workers affected and the Saldanha Bay community. To this end the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in collaboration with the Department of Local Government will be hosting career resilience outreach workshops from 09:00 – 15:00 on the 20 – 21 February at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha.

This is follows the announcement by ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) that the winding down of the steel works plant in Saldanha will be largely completed by the end of the first quarter of 2020, and that the large-scale employee reorganisation has been largely finalised and resulted in a reduction of employees.

Support staff at the workshops will provide advice on worker’s rights, financial planning, starting a business, re-training, applying for a new job and CV support.

The Department of Economic Development and Tourism has also created a guide to career resilience and unexpected job loss which is available on the Western Cape government website at https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/career-resilience-when-facing-unexpected-job-loss.

Following the first announcement by AMSA of their intention to wind down the plant in November last year we immediately established a task team consisting of government stakeholders such as the Saldanha Bay Municipality, the Saldanha Bay IDZ (SBIDZ), the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, the Department of Social Development and Wesgro with the purpose of mitigating the impact of a possible closure of the plant.

In addition to the career resilience outreach workshops, the task team have also engaged with SMMEs and individuals who were contracted to AMSA in Saldanha Bay to identify the extent of the impact of the plant closure on their business. A questionnaire was issued to these businesses, and the results are currently being reviewed to ascertain the level of support the require.

The task team will continue to be in frequent contact with all stakeholders invested in the success of Saldanha Bay and the West Coast region to minimise the impact of the AMSA plant closure, support the workers affected and continue to drive the growth of the economy and create jobs in the region.

Despite the setback of the plant closure we will work hard, together with the municipality and business stakeholders, to continue to grow other sectors in the regional economy.

MEDIA RELEASE BY ALDERMAN MARIUS KOEN, EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF SALDANHA BAY MUNICIPALITY

The Saldanha Bay Municipality has set out a vision for the municipality to have a “Smart Future through Excellence” and under my leadership, the municipality has been making sure that the foundations and building blocks are being put into place to make this a reality.

With the recent media announcements about the threatened future of the ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) plant in Saldanha Bay, government stakeholders including the municipality, the Saldanha Bay IDZ (SBIDZ) and Wesgro have come together, under the initiative and leadership of the Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, to form a task team focusing all their efforts on mitigating the impact of a possible closure of the plant.

The aim of the task team is to ensure all stakeholders invested in the success of Saldanha Bay and the West Coast region are in frequent contact to minimise the impact of any possible AMSA plant closure, support the workers affected and continue to drive the growth of the economy and create jobs in the region. To this end, the Saldanha Bay Municipality has been meeting regularly as part of the task team.

The task team are actively working on the following:

• Identifying possible buyers of the AMSA plant and supporting the Department of Trade and Industry in encouraging AMSA to consider these, and other options, for the plant,
• looking at measures to make sure that the workers and businesses who may be affected by the possible closure have access to the necessary information and support to help them adjust and transition quickly to new jobs or economic opportunities, and
• accelerating efforts to attract investors into the Saldanha Bay IDZ and into the wider municipality.

On the latter, we are really pleased that the construction of the facility of a local investor, West Coast Corrosion Protection, began in earnest this past month.

Based in White City in the town of Saldanha Bay, the workshop will see West Coast Corrosion Protection (WCCP) nearly double their workforce, as they position themselves to grow their already established business with the support of the SBIDZ and the SEZ Fund in the SEZ Programme.

As a small, local company in the corrosion protection and support services industry, WCCP services a range of marine vessels in a number of ports across South Africa. Their new facility will provide a necessary base to expand their value and service offering, and in an SEZ dedicated to the maritime industry, will open doors to new markets and customers.