Keynote Address by the Minister of Higher Education and Training,
Dr Blade Nzimande at the Launch of the KZN FET Graduate
Placement Project,
UMgungundlovu TVET College, Pietermaritzburg, 04 April 2014
Programme Director
Executive Mayors, Mayoral Committee Members and Councillors from
various Municipalities
Senior Management and Officials from all spheres of Government
Council Members and Management from TVET Colleges
Council Members and Management from SETAs
Graduates present here today
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today, we are celebrating the work placement of 2655 graduates from
nine Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges
in this province and 504 from the Durban University of Technology
(DUT). The placement of these graduates is facilitated by the Sector
Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and the private sector which
are contributing resources towards the payment of stipends for the
learners.
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Work integrated learning and the placement of TVET learners, University
of Technology graduates and out of school youth is a critical component
of the Department of Education Higher Education and Training’s (DHET)
skills trajectory in terms of empowering and developing our youth.
Work integrated learning speaks directly to the vision of the White Paper
on Post-School Education and Training, launched on January 16, which
emphasizes the crucial role of technical and vocational education that
combines academic and workplace learning.
Hence our slogan of
“Turning every workplace into a training space” which is embedded in
our National Skills Development Strategy.
The role players in work integrated learning, working closely with
industry, namely the youth, SETAs and the TVET colleges are major
players in the post school system. This new policy, whose bedrock is
the TVET colleges, will strengthen and expand the public colleges, from
which our students here today have come, enabling them to attract a
large proportion of school leavers and become institutions of choice. The
SETAs will assist to achieve the aims of the Colleges, particularly in
strengthening their cooperation with employers and promoting workplace
learning.
The system envisaged must provide paths for articulation between
various qualifications: there should be no dead-ends for students; like
yourselves, there should always be a way for someone to improve their
qualifications, like undertaking work integrated learning, without undue
repetition and hindrance. This means that the only time when a learner
is ready to exit the post-school system is when he or she is fully
prepared for employment or sustainable self-employment. In that way
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they would contribute to building a developmental state with a vibrant
democracy and flourishing economy.
Work Integrated Learning and placement of and University of
Technology graduates is a crucial aspect of the human development of
our
country,
preparing
students
for
the
world
of
work
and
entrepreneurship. It gives students valuable work experience which
contributes to future employment prospects and leads to the acquisition
of a full qualification. It produces scarce skills and qualifications urgently
needed by the economy. It also motivates students to redouble their
effort and integrate the theory they have learned with their work
placements.
There are many good examples that one can talk about around
placement. For example, on the 8th of February I was invited by
SAPREF, Shell and BP’s oil refinery in Durban to preside over the
official hand-over of contracts to matriculants: 70 learnerships and 10
bursaries for engineering at university level for the 2014 academic year.
This initiative by SAPREF is commendable. It is a concrete commitment
by one of the major economic players of our country, planting the seeds
that will ensure South Africa’s economic growth. I am highly encouraged
by SAPREF’s initiative.
There are numerous other advantages for students in workplace
integrated learning. These include beginning to understand the need to
be accurate and timeous in their respective fields of study and work; to
understand technology, quality and cost; to integrate knowledge and
skills for real-world applications; and to cooperate with employers,
contributing to the welfare of the enterprise and gaining expertise.
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It serves to confirm and consolidate career choice and makes studying
more meaningful; increases retention of learning and improved
academic performance; motivates students; brings about a sense of
maturity and confidence; develops interpersonal skills; improves
employability; develops a career work experience record; provides a
preview of the student’s capabilities to potential employers and enables
the development of a professional network that could open up
employment opportunities for the youth.
The country’s economy benefits from this expanded pool of potential
employees. It keeps our youth productively occupied whilst achieving
particular skills or goals, thus producing purposeful citizens who find
meaning in helping to develop our country.
Work integrated learning is not relevant only to those in the formal
education
system.
Learnership
programmes
can
also
provide
educational opportunities for those not in education, employment and
training (NEET). This benefits the economy as relevant short to medium
courses are provided to upgrade skills and facilitate flexible entry and
exit into the labour market by both employed and unemployed youth.
Once they have completed their learnership and internship programs,
youth can go on to take higher education diplomas and degrees.
Work integrated learning is not a one way street in which only the
students benefit. It contributes to the vigour and profitability of industry,
exposing the employer to the quality of students from TVET colleges and
to the curriculum they have been studying; establishing cooperative
working relationships with the post school education and training sector;
and providing opportunities to survey and evaluate potential employees.
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It provides opportunities to develop new programmes or projects based
on the skills of the new recruits; reduces recruitment costs; brings about
job enrichment and improves the morale of permanent staff assigned to
mentor the youth. In short, it opens opportunities for employers to
influence the type of skills required by the economy.
Work integrated learning also benefits institutions within the post school
sector. For example, it is important for the professional development of
lecturers as they are introduced to real industrial experiences that
enhance their skills and subject content knowledge. It also keeps them
updated with recent developments in industry.
Each constituency - students, institutions, employers, and SETAs - is
expected to play a meaningful role in ensuring work integrated learning
programmes that function well. The students’ role for instance is to learn
and gain workplace experience. They must recognise the opportunity
and not waste it.
They must acquire as much knowledge as possible and complete their
portfolio of evidence. They ought to be ambassadors of the placement
project, develop the culture of work, be disciplined, ethical and good
representatives of their institution and observe workplace rules.
The college role is to ensure that NATED students expected to complete
N6 are placed after the completion of their part qualification in theory.
They must also provide workplace exposure for National Vocational
Curriculum students. Colleges should also ensure that there are
functioning systems in place for proper implementation of workplace
integrated learning and placement.
Institutions should have the human and financial resources available to
implement the programmes effectively. Work integrated learning and
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placement of students is now one of the performance standards of
college principals, and they are obliged to implement it.
The core business of universities of technology and TVET colleges is to
bridge the gap between theory and practice. This means that they are
expected to produce graduates with degrees and diplomas, competent
both theoretically and practically. They are measured in terms of how
many holders of diplomas and degrees they produce. Integration of work
integrated learning and placement of students in the strategic plans of
colleges and universities of technology is a basic requirement. They
must therefore also develop monitoring and tracking systems for their
students who are part of this system.
The employer is key to the work integrated learning system. As part of
their social responsibility, as well as contributing to their own long-term
success, they should focus on these potential workers rather than
always expecting to be provided with workers that are already fully
experienced. Employers need to integrate it in their recruitment
strategies, ensuring that it is not ad hoc based but rather becomes a
long term company strategy. Students must be properly and
appropriately situated in the workplace, focusing on their areas of
expertise with no mismatch of skills.
There must be correct supervision and allocation of tasks and duties,
and students must be exposed to a real workplace environment like any
other employee of the company: there should be no aimless shuffling of
papers behind a desk. Instead employers should allow a free flow of the
relevant skills to the learner from experienced workers. Employers must
establish direct relationship with colleges through chambers of
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commerce and other business and public employer co-coordinating
bodies.
A national collaborative initiative must be established between industry
and educational institutions to formalize the relationship and fast-track
the placement of students from a single national database. This could
close the gap between educational institutions and companies. It will
also facilitate endorsement and support of workplace integrated learning
by the leading industrial players and could have a ripple effect in terms
of buy-in. Such an initiative could put TVET colleges in a positive light.
Institutions of learning also have a role to play. For instance they can
create a database of local employers and maintain relations with them.
They also need to create permanent support structures within their
institutions charged with monitoring learning in the workplace.
SETAS are entrusted with the responsibility of reconstructing and
developing the skills landscape in South Africa. One of these ways is
through workplace integrated learning. SETAs are the window through
which stakeholders in the post-school system can access employers.
Thus placement is a continuation of their strategic mandate, ensuring
that students get workplace experiential training.
To facilitate workplace integrated learning, DHET has directed SETAs to
open offices in TVET colleges for work placement and career guidance.
Presently, there are more than 40 SETA offices in TVET colleges.
Through these offices, unemployed youth can be exposed to various
career opportunities and networks so as to be closer to the economic
and employment world. Career guidance by SETAs at TVET colleges
could be an opportunity to convince unemployed youth, especially those
without level 4 qualifications, a category that often finds it difficult to
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secure employment, to study further and improve their employment
chances.
In this province six SETA offices have already been opened in TVET
Colleges. SASSETA has opened offices at Majuba and eThekwini;
CATHSETA at Mnambithi and Mthashana, CETA at Umgungundlovu
and eThekwini, and AgriSETA at Cedara Agricultural College.
Thus SETAs are well placed to act as brokers between TVET colleges
and employers, providing valuable sector skills information that would
influence how colleges structure their curriculum delivery. They can help
build the capacity of colleges in collaboration with employers with
specific needs for certain skills, providing sufficient resources and
support for work integrated learning, placement, learnerships and
internships.
Importantly, SETAs must analyse economic and labour trends and
advise and intervene in terms of scarce and critical skills. Their findings
should be communicated to educational institutions so that they can
provide skills and qualifications responsive to the needs of the country.
SETAS must conduct intensive research in terms of programme
offerings at universities of technology and TVET colleges.
The purpose should be to identify institutions that are offering
programmes that relate to individual SETA mandates. In this way SETAs
will be able to enter into long term partnerships based on support and
funding of the institutional placements and work integrated learning
programmes. For instance, a SETA specializing in tourism and
hospitality must have data on all completing students studying hospitality
who are in need of placement and set aside enough resources to
support such students once they are ready to enter the workplace.
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This will set in motion a more long term, visionary approach to work
integrated learning and placement projects. Working together with
colleges and universities they should also establish effective student
monitoring and tracking systems for those who are in the workplace and
those who have completed their experiential learning.
We are seriously about TVET colleges especially since these are
bedrock of the post-school sector. For example during 2012 we
developed a TVET College Turnaround Strategy which focused on
building college capacity in management, governance and leadership,
financial management, human resource management, as well as
teaching and learning, student support services.
With the assistance of the South African Institute of Chartered
Accountants (SAICA) we have appointed 48 Chartered Accountants as
Chief Financial Officers at TVET Colleges. All nine TVET colleges in
KZN participate in this project. In 2013 SETAs invested close to R48
million in learning programmes delivered at KwaZulu- Natal TVET
colleges. In June 2013 we gazetted a policy to set out the minimum
qualifications and professional standards for vocational educators. We
are reconstituting councils in order to strengthen governance and
management of TVET institutions.
As government we continue to invest heavily in education. This is further
demonstrated by the funds we’ve allocated to KwaZulu-Natal
universities and TVET colleges between 2009-2014 .
Furthermore, the DHET is working with education and community roleplayers to develop an education precinct in Imbali Pietermaritzburg. This
development will represent a new and innovative model for education
delivery, linking a range of education and community enterprises that
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enable them to support each other, to develop and use shared
resources and to put in place programmes that are locally and nationally
relevant, that articulate with each other, and in so doing to provide
quality education opportunities to the communities they serve.
The close proximity of the Indumiso campus of the Durban University of
Technology, the Plessislaer campus of uMgungundlovu FET College, a
full range of range of schools representing learning from early childhood
right up to the FET Phase, a special needs school and a hospital will
enable the Imbali Education Precinct to break down the traditional
boundaries that tend to exist between different levels and types of
education institutions and so will provide an example of the integrated
education system described in the recently published White Paper for
Post-School Education and Training.
The planning work is being led by a Steering committee on which the
variety of stakeholders are represented, and the planning is quite
advanced, Care is being taken that the precinct planning is integrated
with the urban planning initiatives for the area. I have approved a
Framework Document which provides the broad vision for the precinct.
Work
on
a
development
plan
is
now being
concluded,
and
implementation will gather momentum in the second half of this year.
To the youth, we would like to thank you for working hard in your studies
which enabled us to be here today. We also with to express appreciation
to your parents and teachers for playing an effective role in your lives. I
would also want to implore employers in the private sector, the provincial
and local government to continue supporting this work placement
project. It should not be a once off programme!
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Let me also express gratitude to the Premier, Mr. Senzo Mnchunu,
together with his entire Executive Committee, along with the Msunduzi
Municipality. I must really thank you for your commitment to the cause of
our young people. You and others in the private sector are the anchor of
this work placement project. Without workplaces for our students, we
would have not succeeded in implementing this project.
I thank you!
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