Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Buti Manamela has called on institutions of learning to embrace new ways of teaching so that South Africa can take up opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings.
“As a country we need to embrace the opportunities the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings and develop the necessary competencies by inclusion into our education and training sector,” said the Deputy Minister on Friday.
In his address to the South African Sugar Association-Shukela Training Centre graduation ceremony in Mount Edgecombe, KwaZulu-Natal, Manamela said education and training institutions must in order to remain relevant, ensure the development of knowledgeable and competent students.
“We need to focus on new ways of teaching and learning to ensure our graduates are relevant. Technology needs to be brought into our teaching environments to enable and aid staff in the creation of a better environment where learning can be aided.”
He said learning should take place in an environment that is developmental and innovative in its approach.
“We need to be flexible, encourage new ideas, focus research areas and innovate to remain abreast in this constantly changing environment. As government prepares for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, so too must private training providers like the Shukela Training Centre in order to remain relevant and prepare for the future.”
Manamela commended the work of the association and it’s Shukela Training Centre for its work in skilling young people and preparing them for the labour market.
Being accredited by the Quality Council on Trades and Occupations as well as various Sector Education and Training Authorities, the training centre is both a skills development provider and a trade test centre.
With over 1500 learners being trained and 900 trade tests conducted annually, the Shukela Training Centre, is partnering with government to meet the target of the country’s National Development Plan of producing 30 000 artisans per year by 2030.
Mandela and Sisulu centenaries
Manamela told the graduates that the ceremony comes in the centenary celebrations of democratic South Africa’s founding father Nelson Mandela and struggle heroine Albertina Sisulu.
“These great patriots were also higher education and training graduates. Both recognised the significance of higher education and training for their personal growth, career prospects and livelihoods.
“Although the apartheid system limited their career aspirations and their educational pathway, both patriots understood the importance of higher education and training, not only for their own life prospects but also for contributing to the struggle against apartheid and for social justice,” he said. This as South Africa and the world is counting down to 18 July, a day in which Mandela the global would have turned 100 years old. - SAnews.gov.za
