Learners encouraged to take a look at the education alternatives at TVET colleges
5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to evaluate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as a important and practical option for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit into the post-school education and instruction (PSET) establishments inside the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development inside the state.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, along with the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological innovation (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits directed at assessing the state of readiness of larger education institutions across the nation, forward of your 2025 educational year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to choose pride in obtaining artisan capabilities as they provide good entrepreneurship alternatives.
"I'm very encouraged by what I'm seeing at TVET colleges, I believe they are the future of this country. TVETs are producing artisans with much needed skills [and] also offer opportunities for learners to acquire future skills, such as robotics, AI [Artificial intelligence], and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, college students at CPUT expressed problems about college student residences together with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the identified difficulties.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by key senior officials from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The Deputy Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The difficulty of funding and administrative problems confronted with the NSFAS was within the spotlight in the Free State website leg in the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with no delays. Delays cause serious challenges for tvet colleges open for applications learners; learners need allowances to eat and to buy hygiene products. This is important for their sense of wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.
Gondwe embarked on the state of readiness visits following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education letaba tvet college and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at click here the get more info special meeting of the Post Education and Training sector held in January 2025, to establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za