South Africa is built off the backs of miners who toil deep underground, bolstering our economy.
It’s a tough job which carries a great deal of risk including health risks.
This kind of work is also obviously short-lived and there has always been pressure on industry to equip miners with skills needed to pursue other ventures once their time in mining has come to an end.
Enter the Mining Qualifications Authority SETA – or MQA – who collect a skills levy from mines meant to be reinvested into our miners through sustainable training programmes.
All well and good. But, what happened to 100 former miners in Gauteng who were earmarked by the MQA for a basic course in business and a start-up kit to the value of R10 000? Nothing – until we paid the MQA a visit …