Technical & Vocational Education and
Training Technical Task Team (TVET TTT)
15 August 2014
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Problem Statement
 Importance of TVET colleges as seen in key government plans
and strategies.
 The central role of TVET colleges in addressing skills shortages
to advance economic growth has been recognised
 Need for focused attention on the TVET college sector to
increase access and improve quality of provision.
TVET TTT Objectives
 Identify measures for strengthening and supporting TVET
colleges in order to;
 expand access; and
 improve the quality of provision.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Methodology
• TVET TTT Indaba in March 2013 that involved sector
stakeholders, experts and policy makers in the identification of
blockages.
• Three work streams established to further engage with themes
identified at the Indaba which were:
– Partnerships
– Positive Learning Experience
– Pathways
• Research commissioned which conducted a desktop review of
the sector. Five reports produced.
• There was continuous engagement with stakeholders and
experts through task team meetings and e-mail comments and
inputs.
• A roundtable of sector specialists held in January 2014 where the
draft reports were discussed.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Notions of Access and Quality
 Key words in TTT’s mandate are expanding access and improving
quality of provision, need to unpack access.
 3 categories of access that should be understood and used as a basis
for fulfilling mandate:
o Access into colleges (increased enrolments)
o Access inside colleges (outcomes and efficiencies)
o Access out (into labour market, further education, self-employment)
Recognising that quality can (only) be achieved through, and by means of
open and unfettered institutional access and that access cannot be
achieved without attention being paid to quality.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Challenges
TVET Colleges
2.5 million
FET
Colleges
320 679
FET
Colleges
509 643
Universities
1.6 million
Universities
Universities
761 000
953 373
South Africa,2007
(DHET, 2008)
South Africa,2012
(DHET, 2013)
2030 Vision (White
Paper)
• Close on 2 million students enrolled in public and private PSET
programmes in 2012.
• 54% in HEIs
• 32% in TVET Colleges (DHET, 2013)
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Challenges (Cont.)
 Not enough lectures have the capacity to take charge of their learning
environments, most don’t have the necessary competences (the
combination of a teaching qualification and a trade in programmes that
industry is mostly interested in).
 With the envisaged expansion of student enrolments, not enough
lecturers in the system to cope with the expansion.
 Colleges cater mainly for those who have left school – should ideally
provide education and training to members of their own and nearby
communities and develop skills for local industry, commerce and publicsector institutions. In this regard, need to revisit their purpose.
 Colleges have become central part of government strategy in the
provision of PSET, targeted for the greatest expansion and
diversification (White Paper, 2013). Need to ensure they are properly
resourced, led and managed to fulfill this role.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
A range of interventions since democracy
FET Act 1998
New Institutional
Landscape 2001
302 550 students
356 049 students
152 technical
colleges
R780m budget
(1.7% of National
Education Budget)
50 FET Colleges
Recapitalisation
2005
377 584 students
R793 budget (1.3% R1.35b budget
of National
(1.6% of National
Education Budget) Education Budget)
Introduction of Establishment of Transfer to DHET
NCV & Bursary
New Funding
2012
Scheme 2006 -2007 Norms 2008-2009
320 679 students 420 475 students 509 643 students
R2.7b budget (2.5%
of National
Education Budget)
R66million
NSFAS Allocation
R3.77b budget
(2.7% of National
Education Budget)
R299million
NSFAS Allocation
R4.95b Budget
(2.4% of National
Education Budget)
R1.7billion
NSFAS Allocation
• Very key: the DHET Turnaround Strategy 2012
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Conceptual Framework: The Notion of a Developmental State
• Major policies issued by the post-apartheid government since1994
revolve around the notion of a developmental state.
• Most of these policies make explicit reference of the catalyst role the
TVET college sector should play within the post-school education
and training (PSET) system towards addressing the challenges
faced by a developmental state.
• The central question contained in the White Paper (DHET: 2013) is
the following: how can skills development support the creation of a
developmental state?
• A response to this requires an understanding of the developmental
role of TVET colleges and a re-conceptualisation of their purpose in
a developmental state.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Blockage 1: Purpose
• Current Purpose limited, too oriented towards supply-side with its
main focus on employment in the formal labour market
Recommendation
• Get the longer-term purpose right: should also speak to overall longterm Mission and Vision for the sector.
• Purpose should reflect TVET for economic and broader societal and
developmental objectives (with the involvement of the DTI, EDD,
NPC, national business formations, national labour formations).
• TVET for local economy (local businesses, provincial and local
government, informal sector) as well as responding to national
imperatives.
• Immediate focus should be on occupations and the acquisition of
mid-level skills.
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Purpose of TVET Sector
Purpose
Immediate Term
Medium Term
Long Term
Focus
• Labour market (formal and
informal labour market)
• Labour market (formal and
informal labour market)
• Community/local needs
• (CETC and TVET
Colleges)
Expanded, comprehensive
and differentiated colleges
Target Group
• Pre-employed
• Employed
• Unemployed/ Postemployed
Youths and Adults (both pre-employed and employed and
un/post employed)
Alignment with
DTI (Industrial Policies)
EDD (National Dept)
Local Labour markets
SBD (entrepreneurship)
Economic and Community
Responsiveness to the
learner (in broadest sense)
Purpose
The main purpose of these
colleges is to train young
post-school leavers,
providing them with the skills
(incorporating knowledge
and attitudes) necessary for
employment (formal)
Youths and adults “building
skills for work and life”
Main purpose to provide
labour market needs and
community development
Economic, equity and
transformation
Learning Mode
F/T, with P/T provision (WIL
crucial)
F/T, with P/T provision (WIL
crucial)
- Community
Occupational
routes engagement
Multiple modes – online, elearning, blended learning
Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Blockage 2: Institutional Effectiveness
Recommendation: Build Capacity of College Management
•
The capacity of the DHET (in its oversight role) and colleges (as
implementers) needs continuous strengthening – that this should not
simply be a case of DHET determining a game plan and colleges
implementing – need a sense of mutual capacity building, leading to
more effective accountability of the main actors.
•
Appropriate centralisation/decentralisation needs to be accompanied by
clearly defined role awareness and the necessary capacity that
accompanies this approach.
•
Office of college principal to be enabled to perform its primary role of
institutional vision and mission management and leadership as well as
institutional co-ordination and accountability management. Again, the
issue of capacity building and ensuring that the necessary resources
needed are in place.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Blockage 2: Institutional Effectiveness
Recommendation: Development of College Lecturers
 The task team sees this as a critical issue and its recommendations
stand with a plea that this should be accelerated to enable colleges
to cope with the envisaged growth in enrollments, particularly the
development of a strategy to recruit and train college lecturers to
allow the sector to cope with the expansion programme and to also
address the current student-lecturer ratio.
 Develop a holistic CPD model that includes professional
qualifications, coaching, mentoring, peer observation and feedback.
 Review the remuneration of college lecturers so that the sector can
attract the required talent that will take the sector forward.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Blockage 3: Inadequate Partnerships
Recommendation: Build and Strengthen College Partnerships with
Stakeholders
• Partnerships must be an institutional responsibility. However, key for
government is to develop a framework and incentive schemes to
promote the formation of partnerships.
• Define and develop a very clear perspective of what a partnership is
and for what purpose it has been devised.
• The partnership framework should address the following:
o tasks and responsibilities of key organisations;
o mechanisms of coordination;
o mechanisms for stakeholder participation; and
o the structure of the system.
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Technical & Vocational Education and Training
Role of the Private Sector
•
Consulting with TVET colleges about skills requirements.
•
Advising colleges and the DHET about the quality of training and
assessment approaches.
•
Participating in curriculum development with colleges.
•
Providing work-based training opportunities for college students.
•
Participating in national, provincial and local TVET structures.
•
Provide opportunities for TVET lecturers to regularly update their
workplace experience.
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What the TVET TTT would like the HRD Council to do
•
Approve recommendations made in the presentation and final report to
be implemented by the DHET and its agencies.
•
Establish an Inter-Ministerial Committee (Economic Departments and
Ministry of Small Business Development, Rural/Agriculture, Basic
Education etc.) to establish synergy for the TVET system.
•
Put in place the necessary structure/s to look into the review of the
remuneration of college lecturers.
•
This Committee should also serve a Monitoring and Evaluation role and
function.
•
Facilitate the streamlining of the functions of the various role-players in
the TVET system, particularly those of the DHET, SAIVCET, AoCSA and
the QCTO.
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THANK YOU
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