Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has given the department a directive to ensure that the new performance agreements signed by Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college principals are properly monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
This follows Nzimande’s directive that all TVET college principals should sign new performance agreements, which include industry partnerships as one of their key performance indicators.
“I have previously stated on numerous platforms that TVET college management, especially principals, must know that they are not running TVET colleges unless they prioritise building partnerships with industry.
“I want the department to ensure that this is not only implemented but also properly monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
“Holding TVET college principals to account on work placement is informed by the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training, which requires Work Integrated Learning (WIL) to be a central component of the college programmes.
“The extent to which students are able to get placement in the workplace must be used as an important indicator for assessing the performance of the management of institutions,” Nzimande said.
Speaking at the Artisan Graduation Ceremony of over 350 artisans from Centres of Specialisation (CoS) on Tesday, Nzimande maintained that TVET college principals owe it to the youth and skills development of the country for them to lead in the establishment of “strategic partnerships” with industry.
Nzimande said it is disheartening to visit an industrial area with a TVET college campus in the vicinity, only to find that there is not a single TVET college student or graduate placed in any of the workplaces in the area.
“Let us also incorporate this into the work performance of our regional managers to support the effort of building industry partnerships. I need a report before the end of January 2023 from the department on all the 50 TVET colleges on the industry partnerships that they have.
“Where colleges hardly have any such relationships, I also need an explanation as to why and for a strategy to be developed to realise such. If need be ,please come to my office for any additional help in forging these partnerships,” Nzimande said.
He expressed his appreciation to all employers who have joined the department in Centres of Specialisation in TVET colleges, including those who work with the department to provide workplace exposure and experience to both TVET college students and lecturers.
“We appreciate this partnership greatly and let us work to strengthen it. We also call all other employers, including SMEs [small, medium enterprises], to join in with us in providing workplace experiential opportunities for our youth, in TVET and CET [Community Education and Training] colleges, as well as generally for unemployed youth,” Nzimande said.
The Minister noted that about 3.6 million youth between the ages of 15 – 24 years are in neither education, employment nor training (NEET).
“It will indeed be a travesty of justice and a serious indictment on us, as leaders, if we were to allow our inaction to cause TVET colleges to become a dead-end for students.
“Our Centres of Specialisation have shown the way and let us now work towards mainstreaming all their experiences and successes into the TVET college system,” Nzimande said.
Congratulating the graduates, Nzimande urged them to remain good ambassadors of the TVET brand and continue to be the “cool artisans of the 21st century”.
“Graduating with a trade is a big step in your life journey. Once you have obtained your trade certificate or red seal as they call it, you form part of the alumni community.
“The college from which you come must remain your place of pride, and where you can continue to support the work of the college, please do so,” Nzimande said.
