With universities not having the capacity to absorb many of the country’s matriculants, the spotlight is now on Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) colleges.
Recently, universities revealed that they had received applications up to 30 times higher than available spaces for first-year applicants.
This means that most candidates with bachelor passes will not have the space.
However, TVET colleges offer skills-based qualifications that prepare candidates for absorption in the economy. They cater to students who want academic excellence, vocational skills, and to be entrepreneurial savvy.
Hlumelo Kwetsube, a recent graduate of Electrical Infrastructure Construction from Lovedale TVET College in the Eastern Cape, is this week, heading to Cairo in Egypt, to participate on a 22-day training programme alongside 39 other TVET college graduates from South Africa.
The initiative, which aims to equip participants with world-class skills in appliance repair, is led by the Wholesale and Retail (W&R) Seta in collaboration with Elaraby, Egypt’s leading company in manufacturing and electronics.
Hlumelo, whose campus congratulated her on social media, said: “I am very happy to have been chosen for such an integral opportunity. I am thankful to Lovedale for accepting my application all those years ago because, without that, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Madia Teresia, a graduate of Vhembe TVET College in Limpopo, whose campus recently invited her to encourage students, said she started as an artisan and now has her own business. “If you want to embark on a journey of artisanry, you can go for it because there are opportunities. Artisans are in high demand because of their creativity.”
Smiso Magcaba, an Automotive Engineering graduate from Elangeni TVET College in KwaZulu-Natal, is now an apprentice at Toyota Motors (Motor Mechanics Artisan).
He said he loved motor mechanics at a young age and it was the goal he wanted to achieve and something that he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
“Discipline is the backbone of everything. Never lose appetite for hard work, and if you complain too much, you will never make it in life,” he said.
Zolile Zungu, a lecturer and researcher at TVET colleges, described these institutions as more aligned to skills and practical knowledge.
“The TVET curriculum tries to get students into a situation where they learn both the theory and the practical simultaneously. Time would be structured so that a portion of the learning time is dedicated to book knowledge, while another to hand knowledge.
“For example, if you are studying hotel management, you’ll learn what the books of hospitality say about how to run a good hotel, managing staff, and all of that. And then the second half of the course would go into you being placed within a hotel set up, and then you execute all those tasks that are part of the skill set that you are supposed to learn for that curriculum,” he said.
Zungu said TVET colleges exist in their own right and have objectives and goals that are as valuable as what universities and schools are trying to achieve.
He encouraged matriculants to do due diligence before enrolling at any institution.
Zungu added that the misconception that hits him the most is that of people who believe that TVET colleges are meant for those who have failed at education.
He added that the government is trying to grow the economy in a particular way, by growing the skill base to serve this economy - through TVETs.
He encouraged parents to monitor their children from a young age to see if they are academic or skills-inclined. he said if they are more skills-inclined, you can switch them to a TVET college (NCV - equivalent to grades 10, 11 and 12) so that they gain skills that will help them in life - when they try to pursue that line of education.
During the provincial matric results announcement for the National Senior Certificate 2024, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli announced that the province will be embarking on a massive reskilling programme for the youths who are not in school and are also unemployed. He said this will be in partnership with the Department of Higher Education.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the programme will be skills-oriented because the country needs people who fix fridges, plumbers, hairdressers, etc.
Mahlambi added that the former Education MEC Mbali Frazer had committed to using schools that were closing down because of the poor numbers - as skills Centres.
“We will rely on funding from Setas. They fund programmes according to their need for each sector - students that will be employable post-graduation. Through this initiative, we are creating a safety net for those who did not pass matric. We want to make sure that they are employable and able to earn a living through skills,” Mahlambi said.