National Tooling Initiative NPC
About INTSIMBI National Tooling Initiative
The INTSIMBI National Tooling Initiative is a national, multi-stakeholder initiative that was established under the auspices of the South African Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) and the Production Technologies Association of South Africa (PtSA) to implement a turnaround strategy for South Africa’s distressed tooling industry.
The Initiative is enabling government and industry to cooperate on the large-scale interventions required to rehabilitate the South African Tool, Die and Mould (TDM) sector for the benefit of the South African manufacturing industry. The INTSIMBI partnership between the tooling industry (PtSA) and government (the dtic) to develop and implement the National Tooling Initiative (NTI) programme is governed by an overarching memorandum of agreement (MOA) and supported by an annual service level agreement (SLA) between the two parties.
The South African Tooling Industry
The local TDM industry has, over the past 25 years, lost considerable (80%) tooling capacity. Local companies currently satisfy less than 15% of the local and less than one per cent of global TDM demand, as they have failed to adopt the technology and production efficiencies of their developed counterparts. Ageing skills capacity in the sector was not replaced timeously which lead to a serious skills shortage in the TDM industry. The performance of the sector remained curtailed by the low demand in South Africa’s main export markets in the developed world. Since its onset the NTI, however, sought to not only halt the decline of the sector but to embark on a robust rehabilitation programme to put the local TDM industry on a firm trajectory to international competitiveness.
Governance, Execution and Monitoring
Unique governance and implementation structures for the NTI were established at a national levels to facilitate project partnerships and funding. A Section 21 company the INTSIMBI National Tooling Initiative NPC allows industry and government stakeholders to guide and monitor the NTI programme.
NTI Programmes
Skills and Enterprise development drive the rehabilitation objectives of the National Tooling Initiative. PtSA members have access to these programmes.
Skills Development
- SAQA approved artisan qualifications and training programmes at PtSA’s accredited training facilities in Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
- Short courses to continuously improve skill levels and implement new technologies.
- Toolmaking and machinist training programmes to ensure the availability of trained local artisans.
Enterprise Development
- International benchmarking
- Intervention projects
- Human resource development
- Operational support
- Technology upgrading
- Application support for funding
- Concept development support
- Relationship building
