Keynote Address by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande At

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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 investedclose to R48 millionin 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 role-players 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 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!

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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