PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SETAs, FET COLLEGES AND PRIVATE PROVIDERS

INTRODUCTION

Good morning Acting DDG, Chairperson and CEO of AgriSETA fellow speakers and delegates. For the next thirty minutes, I'd like to share with you my view point on partnerships betweenSETAs, FET COLLEGES AND PRIVATE PROVIDERS. The points that I will touch on are the mandate, involved parties, challenges, solutions, Gert Sibande situation and the conclusion.

THE MANDATE

The Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr. Blade Nzimande in his budget vote speech to the National Assembly on the 26 May 2011 has reiterated the target to produce 10000 artisans per annum. Neither the FET Colleges by themselves nor Private Providers will be able to produce these numbers. I quote the Minister from his speech “We have invested heavily over thedecades in these public education and training institutions. They now must be used by the SETAs and the NSF to providequality occupational and professional training programmes foryouth and adults.”

WHO WILL BE INVOLVED

For a student to qualify as an artisan we need three aspects to be fulfilled that is theoretical training at an FET College, Off the-job training which can be offered by the FET College or a Private Provider and when an Employer provides workplace learning placements then the employer would be given a grant per learner for the duration of the placement, to incentivise them to develop and deliver programmes.SETAs & NSF will provide funding.

MODEL FOR DELIVERING ARTISANS THROUGH FET COLLEGES

The model is targeting PIVOTAL programmes which includes professional, vocational, technical and academic learning programmes that meet the critical needs for economic growth and social development.

The National Skills Fund would provide grants for the implementation of the strategic programmes, some of which would be developed and implemented by SETAs.

PRESENT CHALLENGES FOR THE PARTNERSHIPS

  1. Not all SETAs have been successful in forming working relationships with Colleges.
  2. Some of the Colleges lack skilled personnel to roll out the programmes.
  3. A sizable number of employers are not prepared to give learners practical experience.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

  1. FET Colleges and SETAs are in the process of signing Service Level Agreements, these describe activities of SETAs and FET Colleges that should be undertaken by each of these entities.
  2. Working groups comprising representatives from the SETAs, Colleges and professional bodies to facilitate the development and review of curricula and evaluation and upgrading of College facilities.

GERT SIBANDE SITUATION

The College has partnerships with several SETAs already. The College has an Institutes of Sectoral and/or Occupational Excellence (ISOE) status with ETDP SETA, INSETA and in the process of acquiring with merSETA and CETA.

The College is also delivering training for the EPWP programmes in collaboration with Private Providers.

In Balfour the College is participating in the Presidential Project, where the College is delivering training in ICT in collaboration with MICT SETA and a Private Provider and also partnering with merSETA in delivering welding training. Through the Balfour Project that is how the relationship of Gert Sibande and AgriSETA started.

The College and AgriSETA have already began discussions of delivering certain agricultural programmes in partnership.

The College has been instrumental in setting up of the MPU FETC/SETAs Forum, where 20 of the 21 SETAs are represented and AgriSETA is one of them.

There are many such other partnerships that the College is involved in and are very successful.

CONCLUSION

There are individuals who do not believe in the SETAs and FET Colleges. As partners in Skills Development we need to make the system work and support our Minister in achieving the targets that have been set.

“Tough times never last; but tough people do.” – Dr. Robert Schuller