Facilitator Training

The objective was to equip our chosen facilitators with a range of skills that they could in turn pass on to various stakeholders in the taxi industry in KZN.

• These included:

• Basic first aid;
• Basic HSSE;
• Office administration;
• Controlling documentation in an office.

Leadership Training

• The provincial leadership attended a 6 day Leadership Development Programme offered by the UKZN Extended Learning Unit in conjunction with STLTA.
• The leaders of the Hlokomela Safety programme attended a 3 day programme designed to improve their ability to perform their important role as industry safety officers on the province’s roads at peak periods.
• The executive leadership of the various taxi regions and of the Woman’s Desk structures of the taxi industry in the province attended this training which comprised among other things of modules on leadership, financial management, and conflict resolution.
• The culmination of the project was a Graduation Ceremony that was held at Durban’s International Convention Centre on Friday 24 June 2016.

Driver and Operator Training

• This training was conducted during the first half of 2017 and was presented by STLTA facilitators with course material that had been developed by STLTA. This project has been our biggest to date as we were tasked with training 1 600 drivers and 1 600 operators/owners throughout KZN.  
• The course material for the drivers consisted of a detailed vehicle checklist, customer relations, safe driving habits and HIV/AIDS training.
• The course material for the operators consisted of financial management of a small business, sound HR and IR practices, requirements in respect of operating licences and different forms of legal entity.

Induction Training

• Following the Santaco elections every 4 years, STLTA is tasked with conducting a 3 day Induction Workshop for the association as well as the regional Woman’s Desk leadership structures. This is another mammoth project where 2500 association exco members and 160 Woman’s Desk exco members are trained.
• The STLTA team develops the course material in conjunction with Santaco and translates this material from English into isiZulu.
• This training focusses on equipping the officer bearers on the excos with the skills and knowledge necessary to perform their functions as effectively as possible.

Exco Secretary Training

• This project focussed on the Secretaries of the taxi regions and associations in KZN and was run between November 2016 and March 2017.
• A Skills Programme was put together to equip the Secretaries with the skills necessary to perform their functions at the highest possible level.

• The courses offered as part of this programme included the following subject “clusters”:

• Business Communication
• People Management
• Financial Management
• Leadership
• Roles and Responsibilities of Secretaries

Learners Licence Training

• This aim of project was to prepare 50 learners for their learners licences. This skills programme consisted of 2 unit standards consisting of Basic Customer Relations and Preparing for a Learners Licence.
• The programme was offered in predominantly rural areas in the towns of Melmoth, Vryheid and Ladysmith and 37 of the 50 (74%) of the candidates were women.

Internship Programmes

• STLTA has run several 12 month Internship programmes for graduate interns in various disciplines in order to provide these interns with some relevant work experience.
• The interns are placed at various locations mainly within the Halfway Group of Companies throughout KZN. Each intern has a mentor within the workplace environment.
• The programme has been very successful and the interns have benefitted considerably from the opportunities presented by this programme. In many cases, the companies concerned have employed the interns at the end of the programme.

Learnership Programmes

• STLTA has also offered several 12 month Learnerships to stakeholders in the taxi industry.
• These programmes qualify the successful learners with the Professional Driving qualification through intense practical and theoretical training offered in selected regional offices.

Basic Consumer Financial Education

• Santam has generously sponsored these programmes which are aimed at providing taxi owners and drivers in KZN with improved knowledge of Consumer Finances.
• Subjects included are Wills and Estates, Insurance, Financial Management and Budgetting.

Conclusion

During its relatively short existence Sky’s The Limit Training Academy has built up an enviable reputation for service delivery for with all stakeholders in the taxi industry training space in KZN. These stakeholders include the KZN DOT, Toyota SA, the TETA and most importantly among the members of the taxi industry in KZN. We believe that the training we have provided has contributed significantly to the transformation of the taxi industry in KZN in line with the vision of the industry leadership in the province.

Although the main focus of STLTA to date has been on the needs of the taxi industry in KZN, the company intends broadening its focus to other provinces and other sectors of the transport industry in the longer term. However wherever its future endeavours may take it, STLTA will never forget its roots and origins in the taxi industry in KZN.

But for the future…… the sky is really the limit!!!!