South Africa’s metals sector appears to be closing its skills gap with the number of apprentices in the industry rising over the 4,000 mark for the first time in nearly a decade.

Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) president Johan Fourie said the number of apprentices rose to more than 4,000 in 2008, and added that he remains hopeful this figure will surpass 5,000 in 2009.

In an interview with Engineering News, Fourie said Seifsa had been very active in addressing the shortage of key skills, and the organisation remains supportive of the government’s efforts to train 50,000 new artisans by 2010.