President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new approach to vocational training has received a thumbs up. Picture: Xabiso Mkhabela / Xinhua
Education expert and CEO of Future Learning Institute (FLi), Christo Nicholls, has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new approach to ensuring that South Africa moves towards prioritising vocational training in higher education reform.
This comes after Ramaphosa, delivered his first State of the Nation Address, where he underscored a pronouncement made by Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, who recently indicated that South Africa cannot “dream of taking people to Mars when we can’t have our own plumbers, cobblers, and seamstresses. Those are the kinds of skills we want to focus on and skills that are in our TVET colleges”.
Manamela highlighted the need for young people to recognise the myriad opportunities available within the TVET sector, signalling a shift toward a more integrated approach that blends academic practice with vocational training.
Ramaphosa underscored this strategy, stating: “To ensure that the economy has the skills it needs, we are increasing the production of artisans through TVET colleges. This is part of a shift we are undertaking towards education and skills that combine academic and skills-based training.”
Responding to this new shift, Nicholls said this move is a welcomed development for the future of this country, in light of the much-dreaded 42% expanded unemployment rate with a 60% youth unemployment rate in the country.
“I am in full agreement with the president’s stance that vocational career paths offer a high probability of arresting the current high youth unemployment rate. I also agree that TVET institutions, if bolstered via the four mentioned enhancement pillars, can certainly become a brilliant vessel for offering our youth the skills desired by industry,” Nicholls said.
However, Nicholls pointed out that the main obstacle to this approach is parents who frown upon vocational training.
“However, I would like to add that, outside an equally intensive drive to motivate parents (who are key stakeholders and influencers in our youth’s decision-making journeys), obtaining matric following a conventional schooling route is not the only valid route to ensure a productive societal integration. We’ll still be stuck with the stigma that TVETs are a last resort as opposed to a first-choice planned route,” he said.
Nicholls added that he hopes that this message from the president will also reach public schools which also indirectly influence the direction learners take when they consider their careers in matric.
“Also, I am hopeful that this vocational-focused message will also reach the hearts of our traditional schools and not only lead to teachers advocating it as a brilliant option, but that schools will start to pivot themselves in considering offering vocational journeys in parallel to their conventional offering.
“One thing is for certain, as humanity we have certainly reached the point where having a desired skill can offer you an equal quality life similar to what a well sort-after qualification can offer,” he added.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
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