Knowledge Factory: centre for skills development and training Part 2 Project 2005 Rakau Lekota Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria | South Africa Skills and knowledge is the core of economic growth and social development. Skilled people are a fundamental aspect of any economic and employment strategy, and by implication, there is a need to link theoretical learning and structured workplace experience. Only skills revolution can address the urgent need for employment and increase productivity in our country. Knowledge Factory facilitates learnership programmes, preparing learners to be employable in the labour market through theoretical learning and work experience training. . It's a market place for new and pragmatic ideas to combat poverty and unemployment. The root cause of poverty in South Africa is unquestionably the lack of skills and knowledge. This project is intended to facilitate programmes that would prepare people for employment. Knowledge Factory is conceived as a marketplace for ideas, and the concept is indeed based broadly on the market street so typical of many African cities and settlements. In a country where such buildings are often characterized by an institutional image, the small-scale buildings not only promote a vernacular, village-like “feel”, but are also configured to allow construction by small local contractors using readily available materials.Prof. Gerald Steyn