Takalani holds a Bachelor of Arts degree; University Education Diploma; Diploma in marketing management, Masters in business administration, MBA; Master of Philosophy in Development Policy and Practice and various certificates in leadership, program & project management in public development, economic development, business, and trade).
He has 30 yrs solid work experience both in private and public sector. His track record include:- Public policy formulation, development and implementation, sectoral strategies development and implementation, SMMEs development and business advisory services in the field of policy and strategy development, market access and market development, trade and investment, new business development, product development, business strategy formulation & implementation, sales & marketing, customer relations management, program and project management, system development, training and development, and feasibility and concept analyses.
His dominant competencies lie in public policy development and implementation, foresight and the ability to initiate and promote change, leadership, lateral thinking, and sound judgment. His understanding of government processes, technical and procedural know how enables him to make change occur.
Takalani has held various positions in his working life where he built and gained valuable and extensive experience, knowledge, expertise and skills in public policy development and implementation in industrial development, economic development, SMME and Cooperatives Development, innovation, skills development and training, sector strategies, incentives development, management and administration, international trade and investment development and promotion, industrial cluster development, business incubation, partnerships, research analysis and interpretation for policy implications.
He is currently the Head: Economic Development Sector Programmes Department within the Economic Development, a line function unit of the Ethekwini Municipality. The unit is mandated to facilitate high sustainable economic growth and development, job creation, economic transformation and economic intelligence.