TVET Colleges critical for business growth, says Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa

Technical vocational education and training colleges are critical to the growth of businesses and the further development of the economy, Deputy   President Cyril Ramaphosa said in Parliament today (12 August 2015).

In replying to a question in the National Assembly, the Deputy President called on companies to see TVET colleges as a source of well-trained   graduates.

“These are the institutions that will produce the employees of tomorrow.”

“It is essential therefore that we work together – government, business and other stakeholders – to improve the scale, quality and relevance of our TVET college system,” he said.

The Deputy President briefed MPs on a TVET college adoption programme being piloted by the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC).

This programme encourages companies and industry bodies to form adoption partnerships with TVET colleges to assist colleges to improve their training programmes. 

These adoption partnerships will assist in addressing challenges of poor administration, management, governance and infrastructure.

He said: “We expect that companies that adopt TVET colleges in areas near their operations will provide students with practical learning opportunities. They will also help to develop teaching-learning material and build the institutional management capacity of TVET colleges. These colleges will then have a greater chance of producing graduates that have the relevant skills that the labour market will be able to absorb.”

“Providing our people with skills that are relevant and meaningful is a national priority. This we do to enable them to find employment and expand their opportunities,” concluded Deputy President Ramaphosa.