The transition from Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges signals a new era for the colleges and skills development in South Africa and will help align the country with international practice. This is according to Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande, who stresses the importance of the transition to the development of the country’s education and training system at tertiary level.

The name change also signals the importance of integrating formal education with practical training and aligning the combined product to occupational requirements.

TVET will also incorporate new programmes that are directly linked to the labour market and employer requirements, and will generally involve work placements as part of the programmes.

As part of the transition to TVET, Nzimande is urging college principals to forge closer links with public and private employers. He also insists that failing to do so will mean that the respective colleges will still be considered ‘old’ FET colleges. Likewise, he wants industry to become more involved with the TVETs to ensure that the appropriate skills are being produced.

However, education analyst Graeme Bloch tells Engineering News that while there has been great progress in the vocational education sector, he is not sure whether the name change is necessary, although it does indicate a desire to be internationally competitive and relevant.

“Vocational education is clearly important, and business and government must rise to the occasion and sponsor Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) and TVET colleges in various ways, including through finance and management.

“As a country, we need plumbers, electricians, midlevel information and communication technology and engineering experts for development. But young people need to be more open to TVET. They currently feel that TVET colleges have limited current throughput, so their first option is usually a university,” says Bloch.

Nzimande stated at a postschool education and training system media briefing, in Pretoria, last month, that, according to the National Development Plan, at least 30 000 qualified artisans a year must be produced by 2030.

The postschool education and training sector, through Setas and the National Skills Fund, has committed more than R1.7-billion in the 2015/16 financial year to opportunities in these artisan fields, which will result in grants for more than 16 250 artisan learners.

Bloch acknowledges that there has been much progress in the sector, but adds that businesses need to become more involved in addressing the need for skills.

Labour Marker Alignment
At the conference, Nzimande referenced a White Paper titled A Skills beyond School Review of South Africa, by the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), which presented a vision for the TVET system, launched at the TVET conference last year.

“We need a system that is aligned to the labour market, where learners are able to get workplace experience in real companies, which will enable them to apply what they learn in the college programmes, prepare them for the world of work and ease their transition from college to work,” Nzimande said.

He added that no private-sector training organisation would attempt to cater for the needs of the entire economy and that it was not realistic to expect employers in every sector to engage with colleges in the way that was needed.

It was also wasteful to have 21 Setas trying to work with more than 150 college sites, Nzimande said.

He suggested that, going forward, colleges would have to be diversified and specialised to attract greater industry support and achieve greater efficiencies in the system.

Bloch agrees, but suggests that a range of new institutions will be required, which could be costly.

Nzimande, for his part, acknowledged the major challenges in the vocational education and training system, including a need for stabilisation, moving colleges from a provincial to a national competence, improving the quality of teaching and learning, developing sustainable funding models and addressing the issue of exclusion, owing to poverty.

However, he said that, despite the challenges, he had been pleased with the progress made in the last five years, highlighting the higher access and improved pass rates of learners. Access to TVET colleges had increased from 340 000 in 2009 to 800 000 students by the end of last year.

Certificate rates were still low; however, the National Certificate programme had an average certification rate of 9% in 2009, which improved to an average certification rate of 33% in 2013, with Report 191/1 Business Studies currently at 38% and Report 19/1 Engineering Studies at 60%.

National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding at TVET colleges increased from R318-million in 2010, benefiting 61 703 students, to R2.107-billion in 2014, targeting 233 958 students.

This year, the NSFAS will fund 200 000 students at TVET colleges and 205 000 first-time and continuing eligible students at universities by providing loans and bursaries totalling R9.5-billion.

Development has also started on 12 new TVET campuses to ensure students, especially in rural areas, have access to education.

“I would like to have a system with no dead-ends, where college students have the ability to move to higher education once they have completed their programmes at TVET colleges. Learners must be encouraged to see their time in colleges as a route to employment and also a springboard to higher education,” said Nzimande.

Meanwhile, colleges will soon be migrated from a provincial to a national competence. College senior management, including principals and deputy principals, are currently employed at national level, which provides the Department of Higher Education and Training with more authority and influence over the performance of colleges.

The remaining function-shift processes will come into effect on April 1.

However, Nzimande believes that, in some instances, colleges are hamstring by a generic set of rules imposed by government, suggesting that partial institutional autonomy be discussed.

At the conference, he noted that while he did not believe the TVET colleges were ready to be granted full autonomy, well-performing colleges should have some discretion on how they dealt with particular employer requirements in their programme offerings.

“While the colleges have inevitably been through a difficult period of change, I am starting to get a sense that there has been some measure of stabilisation. I hope the White Paper will provide a level of further stability,” said Nzimande.

TVET White Paper
The OECD education and skills directorate’s Simon Field presented the White Paper on Vocational Education and Training at a recent TVET conference, highlighting the strengths, challenges and recommendations for the sector.

The report highlights the need to build a partnership between vocational training and the economy.

It also shows that more than three-million young South Africans are not in education, employment, or training (Neet) and two-million of these have not completed Grade 12, while some will end up working in the informal economy.

While the Neet challenge is typically greater in emerging economies, the report finds that it is particularly severe in South Africa and threatens social cohesion.

Effective vocational and education training could be the response to this challenge, said Field.

While he noted that South Africa did have strengths in the vocational system, there were challenges that included a confusing mix of overlapping and competing programmes and qualifications, inadequately developed programmes for adults and limited postsecondary vocational qualifications.

The OECD recommends that upper secondary vocational programmes be merged into two main tracks – a school-based track and work-based track – making vocational programmes more comprehensible and more attractive.

Further, second-chance vocational programmes and flexible forms of provision should be developed to meet the needs of adult learners. This would provide attractive routes to re-engage young adults that are Neets.

The development of diplomas and certificates should be promoted at postmatriculation level, especially among those that have matriculated, but have not enrolled at a university.

The OECD also recommends that pathways from initial vocational programmes to academic programmes be improved to ensure that vocational programmes are more attractive.

Funding Formula
Other challenges highlighted by the OECD include the need to reform the funding formula for TVET colleges to reflect the extra costs required for service delivery in rural areas, the funding of disadvantaged students and incentives for colleges to improve completion rates.

The professional preparation of TVET college lecturers to create a balance between educational skills and workplace experience also needs to be strengthened.

“Vocational teachers can benefit greatly from spending time in the industry, while industry practitioners might be encouraged to take on teaching roles, in both cases drawing industry knowledge and experience into the TVET system. Strengthened preparation of college leaders is also important, as effective leadership is a powerful means of driving improvements in the overall quality of the system,” recommended Field.

The report also warns that it might be difficult to realise the expansion of the TVET system unless it can be predicted with relative certainty that students are likely to complete their studies. It recommends providing targeted support to ensure adequate levels of literacy and numeracy among those pursuing vocational programmes.