"The Gibela project is history in the making and our group of engineers is excited about making it happen"

Collen Malatji, mechanical engineer

"Rail is the future of transport – it is cleaner, more efficient and faster when moving people and goods"

Matodzi Mukhuba, mechanical engineer

"Of course the Gibela project will have its challenges, but challenges are there to be overcome, and we will be ready and waiting"

Philisande Somdaka, electrical engineer

"We believe in the Gibela journey, and we realise the extent of our collective responsibility to pass on the skills we acquire abroad to colleagues at home"

Kasturie Pillay, senior mechanical engineer

"This is a project of national importance that will touch the lives of millions of South African rail passengers. I can't wait to get going"

Denzel Momplé, mechanical engineer

"We are a motivated group of engineers and there is a synergy between our skills. Most importantly, the people who work here want to be here. I believe Gibela has great possibilities in the year ahead"

Bertus Els, electronic engineer

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Human resources

Determined not to trip up over skills transfers, the PRASA contract with Gibela specifies clear transfers of human skills and technological know-how – a commitment that Gibela has endorsed wholeheartedly.

The company's South African operations will depend on skills, not manual labour. And building those skills will include further training for the people who join the company. It will be demanding, it will call for commitment, it will call for imagination. But these are qualities that motivate people, particularly those attracted to a world-class, technologically advanced project that will contribute to improving the lives of the country's burgeoning urban populations.

Developing skills, transferring know how

The Gibela rail project will require some 1,500 artisans and engineers to build the coaches for the 580 trains that will be built in South Africa over the next ten years. Some of these jobs will be filled by trained and/or experienced individuals, but the majority of positions are likely to go to men and women who will undergo training to equip them with the necessary skills and qualifications, as well as and on the job coaching where they will benefit from working alongside more experienced colleagues. In this way, the skills base of this group of new recruits will be developed and in time they will themselves become capable of passing on their know-how to the next generation of employees.

Gibela will work with tertiary institutions, training centres and SETAs to develop rail related skills and provide bursaries and the vocational support necessary to ensure the sustainability of South Africa's rail sector in the long term.

Some 19,000 people – engineers, artisans, technicians, train drivers and technologists – will benefit from training and upskilling in the next 10 years.