The South African National (SA) Artisan Awards brings together the country's artisans as 34 finalists from across the country will be honoured for excellence in their respective trades.

Held under the theme "Changing Artisanal Identity and Status," the awards recognise the skills, and contribution of artisans across key trades, including engineering, automotive, construction, electrical, plumbing and mechanical disciplines. We thought to use this opportunity to talk about investing in artisans and the skill can add to the needs of the economy. 

To talk to us on this and also what the competition looks at, Thami Ngubeni spoke to Ogodiseng Senye, member of the SA National Artisan Awards Oversight Committee.