Sasolburg – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the signing of a pledge that will see Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being adopted by the business sector.
The pledge was signed on Friday during the 16th Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) meeting held at the Flavius Mareka TVET College in Sasolburg, Free State.
The HRDC, TVET, Sasol, organised labour, government and community agreed to work together on projects to enhance the quality of education, while improving skills critical to success in the workplace.
Addressing the media after the signing ceremony, Deputy President Ramaphosa said the pledge promises to make a significant contribution not only to the development of skills that are much sought after in the economy, but also to the realisation of the vision contained in the National Development Plan.
As one of the signatories, Sasol will make sure that the skills taught in TVET colleges are broaden and are more practical.
The Deputy President described the signing of the pledge as an innovative development in the whole HRD sector. He encouraged businesses to support this by seeking out TVET colleges wherever they operate and move towards adopting them to make sure that they develop meaningful partnerships.
“It is when business and TVET colleges are able to form a working and beneficiary partnership that we will see more people in our country acquiring the necessary skills that will enable them to participate in a meaningful way in the economy of our country. Through this, we will also not only improve skills but generate employment.
“The college is close to the Sasol plant and operations. It’s going to [get] young people in the college … exposed to what happens in the real world.
“The approach to this is that the adoption process will involve young people being able to get into college and through getting into this college, they will also immediately get mentorship with the business sector prior to getting to the college,” said the Deputy President.
Breaking new ground
Before the HRDC meeting, Deputy President Ramaphosa had a tour of the campus, where he interacted with students to learn more about the courses offered by the institution as well as the challenges they are facing.
Lindiwe Sithole, 23, who is a welding student at the college, could not contain her excitement when she saw the Deputy President standing next to her while she was working on one of the machines.
Sithole got an opportunity to share with him the experiences and knowledge she gained since enrolling with the college.
She said that after completing grade 12, she wanted to do Electrical Engineering but changed her mind after realising that welding was male dominated.
“Unlike before, the standard of learning in FETs has improved and it is now easy to get a job after completing your studies because the skills we acquire here are needed by the country,” said Sithole.
She said her wish is to work at Sasol after completing her studies in 2016.
About the HRDC
The council is chaired by the Deputy President and is managed by the HRDC Secretariat in the Ministry of Higher Education and Training. The meeting was the second in this administration.
The HRDC Council was established in 2010 as a platform for government, private sector, organised labour, academic representatives, training and research institutions as well as the community sector to negotiate various initiatives to address human resource development in the country.
The council helps to identify blockages in the human resource and skills delivery system and to develop innovative ways to address such blockages and achieve the desired economic growth. – SAnews.gov.za
