Workforce needs skilled artisans

Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana, visited captains of industry’s workplaces in the city last Thursday in an effort to emphasise the need for employers to play a significant role in artisan development and training by partnering with nearby technical vocational education training (TVET) colleges.
The visit included a cocktail dinner that was hosted at Protea Hotel Ranch Resort where Manana was the key note speaker.
“The relationship between colleges and industries are, with some exceptions, weak. Some students at colleges are unable to find workplace experience, which is required to complete National Diplomas and is valuable for all students. Furthermore, most of the colleges have almost no formal linkages with industry, except where they are offering apprenticeships, learnerships or other skills programmes that have inherent practical workplace requirements,” Manana said and added that currently the workforce is not keeping up with the skills needed to remain competitive in an increasingly knowledge-based economy.
Manana said that there is a need to ensure the continuous upgrade of skills in the workforce and to help ensure a measurable increase in the intermediate skills pool, especially in artisan, technician, and related occupations attributable to increased capacity at education and training institutions and increased workplace experiential learning opportunities.
“Government expects that TVET colleges will become the cornerstone of the country’s acute skills shortage. Hence, the partnership between employers and the colleges is integral to advance artisan development in order to meet the 30 000 per annum artisans required by 2030 as indicated by the National Development Programme,” Manana informed.
Manana also said that the Sector Education and Training Authorities play a vital role in facilitating workplace learning partnerships between employers and educational institutions.
He thanked the Transport Education and Training Authority for hosting the event together with the Capricorn College for TVET as well as the host employers, Toyota, Prime Furnitures, Eskom and Tsogo Sun for opening their boardrooms for this noble cause.
According to Busiswa Nongogo, Spokesperson of the Department, the campaign is the Limpopo leg of Manana’s flagship project ‘The Decade of the Artisan (2014-2024)’ where he travels quarterly to provinces to advocate about artisanship to employers; unemployed youth and related matters. Nongogo also reported that, during the visit, Rhulani Matshidze, General Manager of Eskom Limpopo, committed to working closer with the Capricorn College and pledged that Eskom will provide N6 experiential training and apprenticeship to learners as well as assist lecturers during holidays with technical exposure.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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Featured photo: Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana delivers the key note address at the cocktail function.