Chapter 5: A summary of findings, Conclusions and Recommendations
2.8. OVERVIEW OF THE TVET COLLEGE
The South African Constitution (1996: Section 291) provides for the right to basic education and further education to every citizen. The TVET College was an intervention by government, professional bodies, industry and commerce and other stakeholders to improve skills, knowledge and training towards contributing to the economy and a skilled workforce. The TVET College is a public institution of learning regulated by the Further Education and Training Act No 16 of 2006 in South Africa. According to the Government Gazette for Higher Education (2016:4), it is stated that:
“the TVET and CET colleges are established by the Minister of Higher Education and Training in terms of sections 3(la) and 3(lb) of the Continuing Education and Training
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Act, 2006 (Act No 16 of 2016) through Proclamation No, 44 of 2004 which was published in Government Gazette No. 32362 of 1 July 2009”.
The Act provides for regulation of continuing and further education and training through the establishment, governance and funding of public technical and vocational education and training (TVET). According to the Department of Higher Education and Training Statistics on Post-School Education and Training in South Africa: 2015 (2017: 40):
“TVET Colleges provide technical and vocational education and training programmes to learners who completed at least Grade 9 at the school level. However, there are also opportunities for learners with a Grade 12 certificate. In general, TVET Colleges provide three broad categories of qualifications and part-qualifications, namely:
The National Certificate (Vocational) NC(V) =levels 2, 3 and 4 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF);
National Technical Education programmes, or commonly known as NATED certificates =six sub-levels (N1 to N6); and
• Occupational qualifications and part-qualifications, inclusive of workplace- based learning [WPBL]=closely linked to workplace demands and opportunities”
According to the Ekurhuleni East College Strategic Plan (2017:3); legislative frameworks that impact on the TVET college sector include:
• National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Act (No 67 of 2008);
• Higher Education (HE) Act No 101 of 1997);
• Skills Development Act (No 97 of 1998);
• Skills Development Levies Act (No 9 of 1999);
• General and Further Education and Training Quality Assurance Act (No 58 of 2001);
and
• Further Education and Training Act, Act No.98 of 1998.
The above acts and policies support the existence of TVET College education which benefits communities whose youth are unable to afford University Education. These policies serve to
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support the youth academically in order to have formal education that can open job opportunites.
According to the Ekurhuleni West TVET College Strategic Plan (2017), the Ekurhuleni West TVET College (EWC) is located in the following towns of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM): Germiston (as regional centre), Alberton (areas of Boksburg), Katlehong, Thokoza, Vosloorus and sections of Freeway Park and the Northern Service Delivery Region [SDR] namely Kempton Park (as a regional centre), Tembisa, Edenvale, including Bedfordview and Primrose. The college has partnerships with the local paper factories namely SAPPI, Kimberly Clark and Mondi in offering NCV Process Plant Operations, three foundry trades: Melting, Moulding, and Pattern marketing as offered in partnership with local foundries, SAIF, CSIR and NFTN (Ekurhuleni West TVET College Strategic Plan (2017). A partnership also with EOH is useful in placing students and offering soft skills as well as business and IT programmes. The strategic plan further reveals that the Merseta is the lead-Seta of the college and all programmes in Mechanical Engineering are accredited and the Seta representative assists the college with accreditation at other Setas such as MICT SETA, W&R Seta, Services Seta, FP+M Seta and E+W Seta.
Table 2.1: South Africa. Department of Higher Education and Training, 2017. Ekurhuleni West TVET College Strategic Plan. Pretoria: Government Printer
Campus 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Tembisa 583.
505 840.
941 935.
408 617.
319 809.
769 867.
009 947.100 1103.025 1091.959 1193.30 1263.0
The above table contains enrolments at Tembisa Tvet College campus per year. The statistics reveal consistency and the presence of youth who have achieved academically and have persued further education. These youth are academically resilient and they have the ability to adapt to challenges faced in the township and strive towards a better life gained through formal education.
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2.8.1 The Ekurhuleni West TVET College (EWC) overview of the NC(V) Qualifications The post-school education and training system is the government’s initiative that aims at contributing greatly to the upliftment of South Africans and the demands of the economy (TVET College Times, 2017:3). To this end, Minister Blade Nzimande’s speech in the TVET College Times (ibid) indicated that “government has committed R2.5 billion towards the construction and refurbishment of TVET College campuses through the National Skills Fund”. The modern economy is in demand of high skills, high knowledge, and high-quality vocational programmes for the youth of our country and in dealing with issues of unemployment and development. The National Certificate (Vocational) NC(V) of EWC is intended to directly respond to the priority skills needed as per the offerings at the Ekurhuleni West TVET College, according to the highlight in the Ekurhuleni West College (2017) prospectus.
The college offers and provides certification for NC (V) Engineering Studies, NC (V) Business Studies, NATED Business Studies, NATED Engineering Studies and Occupational Programme (Ekurhuleni West TVET College Strategic Plan, 2017). The duration of study at EWC is one year where the students receive a qualification (Ekurhuleni West TVET College:
Strategic Plan, 2017). Each NQF level is offered from January to December of each year.
With each NC(V) qualification, the student must engage in a total of seven subjects per NQF level. Three of the seven subjects are called fundamental subjects and these are Life orientation, English first additional language, and Mathematics or Mathematical literacy. To register for any of the NC(V) qualifications at NQF Level 2, a prospective student must have a Grade 9 pass or a higher qualification or ABET Level 4; or must have an NQF Level 1 qualification. To enrol for NQF Level 3: they must show competence in learning outcomes at NQF Level 2. To enrol for NQF Level 4: they must have competence in learning outcomes at NQF Level 3.
2.8.2. The impact and implications of enrolment on youth academic resilience
The structure of the technical and vocational skills provided in TVET Colleges plays a major role in bridging the skills gap in the promotion of employability (Department of Higher Education and Training: TVET College Times, 2017:1). South Africa is battling with youth unemployment as well as youth who are uneducated and untrained, according to the Department of Higher Education: Fact sheet on NEETs (2013:2). Opportunities and stability in the area of formal or soft employment are presented as critical external factors, which
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contribute to the resilience of youth who are faced with adversity, poverty and unemployment, according to Rojas (2015:63). The enrolment of the youth into TVET Colleges builds on their academic resilience as this is a vocational alternative that accommodates them from Grade 10-12 (Statistics on Post-School Education and Training in South Africa, 2015, 2017:40).
The TVET College makes provision for reasonable Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in the admission and placement of learners into the various available skills programmes, where there is evidence of acquired practical experience (TVET College Times, 2017:3; Ekurhuleni West TVET College Strategic Plan, 2017:7). Further, academic resilience is built by TVET Colleges through support rendered at the provision of the Foundation Learning Programmes (FLP) offered to accommodate learners who enrol to the TVET Colleges earlier in their Grade 10 Level. This still requires a foundation and operational skills such as reading, writing, and communication (Department of Higher Education and Training: TVET College Times, 2017:3). Resilience is also nurtured through the provision of funding to learners that need financial aid. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training: TVET College Times, Minister of Higher Education and Training- Dr Blade Nzimande’s speech (2017:10), the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been providing funding to learners in TVET Colleges since 2013. The TVET College beneficiaries were allocated as follows:
Table 2.2: South Africa. Department of Education Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding, 2013-2016.
Pretoria: Government Printers
YEAR 2013 2014 2015 2016
BENEFICIARIES 220 978 228 642 235 988 225 864
In order for the youth of Tembisa to achieve academic resilience, there is a need for supportive protective factors. These factors include government through funding that has been consistant over the years supporting learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. The above table demonstrates funding allocated by government to TVET College Education.
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2.8.3 Government initiatives that influence youth academic resilience and positive resilience attributes
The South African government embarks on tireless efforts to deal with the number of youth who are unskilled so that they find employment. The National Development Plan 2030 (NDP) of the government of South Africa is working on various strategies to increase young people’s access to higher education, vocational education and training. The strategy is directed by the NDP which targets to increase access to Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to 125 million students by the year 2030 (Department of Higher Education Fact sheet on NEETs, 2013:8). The South African government further plays a part in developing resilience by skilling and establishing employment opportunities through job placement such as the Economic Development Department Youth New Employment Accord (YEA, 2013: 2), which makes it a requirement for the government to employ interns who constitute 5% of employees.
Table 2. 3: Youth Employment Strategy (YES), 2013
Commitment 1 Education and Training Commitment 2 Work Exposure
Commitment 3 Public Sector measure “to employ young people through such programmes as Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) which targets many youths with attained certificates from TVET College”
Commitment 4 Youth targets set aside(considering various industries to absorb youth such as solar water heater installation programmes and the green economy
Commitment 5 Youth entrepreneurship and youth cooperatives
Commitment 6 Private sector measures to ‘provide youth with opportunities’
The table above presents the Youth Employment Strategy aimed at creating jobs for TVET youth graduates. The Accord operates within a Youth Employment Strategy to absorb youth from the TVET College (Economic Development Department: Youth Employment Accord, 2013: 17 YEA), in order to build resilience through job opportunity provision. The Accord serves as a commitment to prioritise youth employment and skills development through the following six commitments stipulated in the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) towards a new growth goal of five million new jobs by 2020.
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2.9. THE ROLE OF RELIGION AND CULTURE IN NURTURING RESILIENCE