Engineering News reports that according to Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) CEO Mpho Mookapele, SA’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges are not in a good state.
“Our TVETs are actually supposed to be producing skills for industry, because this is where you get practical training and links to industry. But most of our TVETS aren't even linked to industry,” she said at a media briefing on Tuesday. Mookapele lamented that young people entering TVET colleges were being taught by lecturers who had no practical experience whatsoever. “We have lecturers who have never been to a solar farm but they are teaching solar installation. We've got young people who are doing water process controlling at TVET colleges, yet they don't even know what a wastewater treatment plant looks like. What do we expect the outcome of this will be?” Mookapele asked. “A lot of money is put in these colleges and into the students who are funded to attend them, but the return on investment is not there,” Mookapele added, noting that there was a dire need to ensure that TVET college lecturers are exposed to the realities and practicalities of working in the field. To support the development of critical skills within the water and energy sector, the EWSETA is developing and implementing specialised renewable energy and water resource management training programmes in a bid to align with industry needs and technological advancements.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News
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