Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has urged young South Africans to start planning their futures now and use the September 2026 application window to apply to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for the 2027 academic year.
The Minister warned prospective TVET students against waiting until January to start the application process, when many opportunities may already be limited.
“Young people can apply using their previous year’s results and should use this period to explore their interests, understand different occupational offerings, identify the skills they would like to acquire and apply,” Manamela said.
He emphasised that making informed and timely choices about education and training is an important step towards accessing opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and further learning.
Manamela said TVET colleges provide important pathways to these opportunities and called for a shift in the way society views the institutions.
“They are not a second choice for young people who do not get admitted into a university. They are one of the pathways provided for in the PSET (Post-School Education and Training) sector and central to the Skills Revolution,” he said.
The Minister said government is building a PSET system that connects learning to the skills required by the economy and creates pathways from education to opportunity.
“We are building a Post-School Education and Training system that connects learning to the skills our economy needs and creates pathways from education to opportunity and are inviting young people to take up the available opportunities,” Manamela said.
He also called on parents, guardians, teachers and Life Orientation educators to support young people during the application period.
This includes starting conversations about career choices, helping learners understand the different education and training pathways available, and encouraging them to consider TVET colleges as institutions of choice.
Through the Skills Revolution, government is working to ensure that education and training translate into skills, skills translate into opportunities, and opportunities translate into meaningful participation in the economy.
“The message is simple: EXPLORE. CHOOSE. APPLY,” Manamela said.
Information about TVET colleges is available directly from TVET colleges or through the Department of Higher Education and Training website www.dhet.gov.za
Applications for the 2027 academic year close on 30 September 2026. – SAnews.gov.za
