Aligning the curriculum of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges with current labour market requirements, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has committed to intensifying collaboration with the private sector to ensure learners receive workplace experience at local companies.

Maintaining that TVET colleges should develop and deliver programmes that provided industry with a “fit for purpose” workforce, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said in November that aligning the department’s colleges and curricula to the world of work was “no longer negotiable”.

“Crucially, this means colleges and employers [will be] collaborating. First and foremost, we need a [tertiary education] system that is [in line with the needs of] the labour market, where learners are able to get workplace experience.

“This will enable them to apply what they learn in their college programmes, prepare them for the world of work and ease their transition from college into the workplace. For the prosperity of individual citizens, as well as the economy at large, industry must be involved in every aspect of life at a TVET college,” he said during a keynote address at the TVET Conference 2014, in Midrand.

Nzimande appealed, in particular, to college principals to forge closer links with public- and private-sector employers and be “committed, creative and innovative” when developing work experience programmes for learners.

“For example, learners studying [automotive mechanical engineering] at a rural college should service and repair the vehicles from the local police station. We are even considering introducing awards that recognise colleges that have been creative in this regard,” he outlined.

Nzimande cautioned, however, that each college could not be expected to be “experts in every industry”, as no private-sector training organisation could attempt to provide for the needs of the entire economy.

He further considered it “wasteful” to have 21 sector education and training authorities attempting to coordinate over 150 national college campuses.

“I think, in our vision for the future, we need colleges that are diversified and specialised. It would be an achievement if we were to have one or two colleges that become institutions of choice in hospitality, for example, while others are focused on transport, others on mining, and so on.

“We must start to focus our efforts on certain areas of specialisation and, in so doing, I believe we will be able to attract greater industry support,” he enthused.

The Minister’s ambitions were supported by the findings of an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report released last week, which investigated the strengths and shortcomings of South Africa’s tertiary education system.

The ‘Skills beyond School: A review of South Africa’ report noted that, while South Africa needed more skills, it needed to ensure that it created the appropriate selection of skills for the existing labour market.

Current vocational education and training programmes might be unresponsive to labour market needs, the review found.

“[Existing] obstacles to a more effective response include weak work-based learning and limited artisan programmes, an inadequate framework to coordinate provision with labour market actors and poor data on labour market outlines,” it read.

Report coauthor and OECD project leader Simon Field told the conference that vocational provision should be more closely linked to the needs of industry.

This could be done by making workplace learning mandatory for vocational programmes; coordinating vocational provision through a strategic body that included representation from industry stakeholders; and maintaining a flexible national curriculum that could be adapted by training providers to meet local needs.

“In support of these recommendations, a more systematic use of work-based learning is practicable, given the successful experience of other countries. Employers and trade unions might, for example, be more [willing to engage] if it was done through a [central] body,” he commented.

Reflecting on the gains made by the DHET over the last four years, Nzimande told delegates that he was “pleased” with the progress made by the department since 2010, noting that there had been “a measure of stabilisation” within the country’s tertiary institutions.

Several issues raised at the start of the previous administration had been dealt with and had, to a great extent, informed the work of the department and college leadership, he added.

Most significant of these, he asserted, were advances in access to improved education and pass rates.

According to the Minister, access to college education had increased from 340 000 learners in 2009 to 800 000 in 2014.

While certificate pass rates were “still too low”, the Vocational National Certificate programmes’ average pass rate of 9% in 2009 had increased to 33% in 2013.

“While colleges have inevitably been through a period of change during the transition from further education and training colleges to TVET colleges, I am starting to get a sense that there has been some measure of stabilisation,” he remarked.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme had, meanwhile, increased student bursary funding at TVET colleges from R318-million in 2010, which benefited 61 703 students, to R2.1-billion in 2014, providing funding for 233 958 students.

Work had also started on the development of 12 new TVET college campuses to ensure learners in rural areas had improved access to education.

Nzimande added that a “major initiative” soon to be completed was the migration of colleges from a provincial to a national competence.

College senior management, including principals, were now employed at national level, providing the DHET with enhanced authority and influence over the performance of colleges.

The remaining functions would fall directly under the department’s authority by April 1, 2015.

“I am under no illusions that, although the functions may shift, there is still a lot of work to be done. It is clear to me that the DHET must have control over the colleges to ensure focused attention and direction.

“While colleges are entities with their own councils, they must know that they are public entities and are here to serve the public good,” he said.

The department had also successfully concluded the National Certificate Vocational review, and policy changes emanating from this review would be taken forward by education quality assurance body Umalusi in the coming year.