TVET Skills in South Africa

On February 16-17, 2023, the Higher Education & Training Department of South Africa, in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Vitae program, hosted a pivotal event titled “Strengthening TVET Systems for Skills and Employability in South Africa.” This was a significant step towards enhancing the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector, focusing on tracking graduate outcomes and improving employability.

The event opened with an emphasis on the importance of employability and skills development within across South Africa, highlighting: youth unemployment, collaboration and knowledge sharing, in addition to scalable interventions and stakeholder collaboration. By addressing these key areas, this influential sector can make significant strides in reducing youth unemployment and enhancing the skills development of its workforce.

Notable comments from those who attended, included:

• “Unemployment rate amongst the youth is a big challenge in South Africa. Over 50% of our youth are unemployed in South Africa, but with TVET colleges we are doing interesting work in this regard.”
  Nigel Olen, Deputy Prinicple Registrar, Motheo TVET College
• “We’ve actually found it very valuable to see what the other colleges around the country are doing and how to bridge the gap between the graduate and the employability in South Africa… The TVET sector is the link that we need in order to make sure that our youth is employed, and for the country, and other upcoming graduates to know… that there is funding and possible employers waiting for them.”
  Khululo Mmagugu, Job Placement Officer, Eastcape Midlands College
• “We know the constraints of the economic sector, but what this does is that it shows us what interventions we can put in place… increase it to more colleges, but particularly also include our community colleges in the study and the work that is being done.”
  Thembisa Futshane, DHET Deputy Director-General Community Education and Training
• “I do think that the department of Higher Education and Training as well as industry stakeholders play a very important role in terms of addressing the needs of our students and addressing the work readiness skills that our students require to go into industry… I’ve found this event to be very insightful. We’ve learned quite a bit in terms of the employability rate of students in South Africa.”
  Roxy Roodt, Career Development Centre Manager, Eastcape Midlands College

Key Strategies

The event highlighted several key strategies to enhance TVET graduate employability. For instance, graduate tracking surveys, that help understand and improve TVET graduate employability. This initiative will conduct the surveys across 50 colleges – a significant step forward. Furthermore, by bringing pilot colleges and stakeholders together, the project will foster collaboration and best practice exchange. Ultimately, this approach is key to addressing TVET sector challenges and improving graduate employment prospects.

Institutions are seeking scalable interventions to enhance graduate employability, and including community colleges in future studies ensures a comprehensive approach to skills development. The Department of Higher Education and Training as well as industry stakeholders play a crucial role in addressing students’ work readiness skills. Their involvement, therefore, helps align TVET programs with industry needs and improves employment outcomes. Youth unemployment is a major challenge in South Africa. Hence, TVET colleges play a crucial role by providing practical skills and improving young people’s employment prospects.

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