Since halfway through this year, Kreishandwerkerschaft Steinfurt Warendorf has been carrying out a new project aiming to connect potential apprentices from South Africa with German businesses in opur districts. In collaboration with our long-standing project partner, Motheo TVET College in Bloemfontein, the initiative aims to prepare young people for apprenticeships in the skilled trades in Germany and place them with member companies. The initiative is supported by the global project “Partnerships for Development-Oriented Training and Labor Migration” (PAM), as well as the GIZ Skilled Workers Fund and sequa gGmbH. The goal is to address the demand for skilled workers in the German trades sector while improving employment prospects for young people in South Africa.

Participants receive an intensive German language course up to Level B1—which has already begun—and take an accredited language exam. In addition, intensive cross-disciplinary training, intercultural preparation courses, and career orientation activities are planned. The selection of apprenticeship trades is based on the applicants’ personal and professional profiles as well as the needs of the companies.

Kreishandwerkerschaft Steinfurt Warendorf accompanies and supports its member companies throughout the process—from selecting suitable applicants, through matching and visa applications, to their arrival in Germany and the start of their apprenticeship. Mentoring, coaching, and, if necessary, additional language support are also provided.

In addition, the occupational training programs at Motheo TVET College are to be expanded on a permanent basis. A modular, interactive, and intensive training program is designed to specifically prepare young people for the demands of a career in the skilled trades. Through capacity-building measures, the college will be empowered to independently implement this program in the long term. The project also aims to develop recommendations for a sustainable model for the migration of trainees from South Africa. The experience gained through this initiative could be applied to other regions and partnerships in the future.

Over the past few months, Kreishandwerkerschaft Steinfurt Warendorf has implemented many new and planned initiatives as part of its Vocational Training Partnership (BBP) with Motheo TVET College in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Among other things, a follow-up workshop by Ilona Sinner and her company natana addressed the topic of young women in South Africa making their own period underwear, providing them with an alternative to expensive sanitary products from the supermarket. Ms Sinner best describes her experience in her own words and through her own photos on her blog. She was supported by Lynette Johnson, the founder of House of Basadi.
In addition, the magazine ‘Plumbing Africa’, a trade journal for South African plumbers, reports on the BBP and the impact our project could have on South Africa’s drinking water supply. In a newsletter, the magazine provides information on the training and specific measures. You can read the newsletter here.

We would like to say thank you for the great cooperation in 2025 – May the coming year be just as successful!

Das gesamte Team International der Kreishandwerkerschaft Service- und Wirtschaftsgesellschaft wünscht frohe Feiertage und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

You can count on us again from 5 January 2026.

At this point, we would like to point out an article in the member magazine of ECASA, the trade association for electricians in South Africa. Motheo TVET College is now a member of ECASA thanks to its apprenticeship partnership with KH. You can find a corresponding tribute to the cooperation here:

https://mags.ecasa.co.za/books/gpta/#p=22

Organised within the Vocational Education and Training Partnership (BBP) with Motheo TVET College, a group of eight representatives was invited to the Steinfurt Warendorf region in September to deepen intercultural understanding, enhance technical skills, foster personal growth, and build international professional networks.

The six bricklaying students are currently constructing the Thusanang House at Botshabelo campus and were accompanied by their bricklayer master trainer well as the Head of Department for the development of curricula.

During the first week, the students received practical training by German master trainer Sebastian Leufkens at the bricklaying workshops within the TVET training centre of KH in Rheine. In the second week, member companies and large construction sites were visited to observe modern construction methods and gain hands-on industry experience from Germany.

The students described their stay as instrumental, noting that they learned from everyone they met. They called the experience enriching and returned to South Africa highly motivated and inspired to achieve more.

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Access to safe and hygienic menstrual products in South Africa is still a challenge for many girls and women, as disposable products are often expensive and also have a negative impact on the environment due to their high levels of plastic. Therefore, a 10-day product-based learning workshop was held at Motheo TVET College in February, giving students the opportunity to learn how to sew washable, reusable period products themselves in practical sessions.

‘The idea behind these workshops was not only to teach practical skills, but also to raise awareness of healthy and sustainable period products,’ explains German expert Ilona Sinner from natana, who conducted the course. ‘With washable alternatives, we are effectively countering the so-called period poverty and at the same time showing the young women and men a career perspective in the field of cost-effective, durable, and sustainable alternative products.

In addition to teaching basic entrepreneurial skills in the trade of sewing, the workshop also focussed on educating the more than 55 participants about the female body, the menstrual cycle and the advantages and disadvantages of various period products. The combination of manual work and social education enabled an open discussion without stigmatisation and taboos.

www.natana.de

https://www.facebook.com/p/natana-100063571081657/