How the TVET students are trained and prepared for job entry in the South African industries

Abstract

The study intended to establish how TVET students are trained and supported for South African industries. South Africa is still struggling to develop a system of education that is skills-oriented. The TVET sector is still producing programs that are not skills-oriented, adding to the enormous number of unskilled graduates, as argued by (McConnell, 2009). The motivation to conduct this study is based on experience as a TVET lecturer who has trained TVET students but realised that they struggle to get job entry in the South African industries. This problem is highlighted by research studies that state that South African TVETs have to ensure higher education is of high quality and delivers the right skills to drive growth. Cooperation between industry and TVET may enable TVET students to be trained and developed in the relevant curriculum content. Many firms are uncertain of the current purpose of TVET colleges and its relevance to the value of skills produced by the TVET system. The research intended to answer the questions on the industry expectations concerning TVET graduates, the challenges experienced by students about TVET training and entry into the industry, and formulate recommendations for TVETs in training as preparation of students for job entry into the South African workplaces? Literature from varied sources helped define the research gap with a particular focus on the identified TVET campuses in the Free State. Industrial development in the late 1800s increased the demand for technical education to be made available to the youth. The demand was spurred by the evolving mining industry and railways, harbours and small engineering workshops in urban centres (Gamble, 2003). “Historians note that technical education referred to a type of education which had reference to manufacturing and industrial pursuits and the scientific principles underlying these” (Smuts, 1937:97). Major findings revealed several issues. There is a real gap between the functioning of the TVETs and the industry that later absorbs the graduates. Regarding this aspect, most of the staff and labour representatives established a common characterisation of attributes, knowledge, and intellectual capability elements that are expected from TVET graduates. In addition, combinations of transferable skills were also deemed particularly relevant. Career guidance offices do exist on campuses, but there is very little collaboration with the industry. The need to change the curriculum was another critical finding. For this curriculum to function, the two parts need to come together and populate the syllabuses. It was concluded that the industry and TVETs were not in constant consultation. Yet, the purpose and mission of South African TVET colleges have always been to respond to the country's human resource needs for personal, social, civic, and economic development. A transformed, high quality, responsive TVET system is a significant investment in the future of South Africa and all its people. Recommendations were that employability measures need to be systematic and embedded into departmental and faculty practice: otherwise, they are vulnerable to changes in personnel. It was also recommended that TVETs and employers should continue to promote and expand opportunities for students to access work-based learning.