Tertiary Education and Vocational Training Minister Dr. Blade Nzimande has stressed the need to dramatically increase the number of skilled artisans produced annually to realize the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 target.
Nzimande made the call at the graduation ceremony of over 350 Centers of Specialization (CoS) artisans held at the Emperors Palace Hotel, Ekurhuleni on Tuesday.
In his address, Nzimande noted that South Africa needs at least 60% of school leavers to be vocationally trained to meet the country’s demand for scarce skills.
“Frankly, we need to do more to encourage school leavers into technical careers as the government expands technical and vocational education. This is one of the reasons for the continued need for appropriately skilled artisans to sustain industry and economic growth in South Africa.”
Nzimande also stressed that the government’s NDP and Post-School Education and Training White Paper show that the country should produce 30,000 skilled artisans annually by 2030.
Enrollment
The country now produces an average of 20,000 skilled artisans per year.
The minister said the department had noted a decrease in the total number of apprentices entering the vocational training programme, with 10,302 apprentices entering the program during the 2020/21 financial year, representing a 36.5% decrease (5,916) compared to 2019/20 2019/20. fiscal year.
“I have been informed that the reason for the decline is due to the introduction of the much-needed Artisan Recognition of Prior Learning (ARPL) model, which has affected the normal flow of learner registrations as Artisan development stakeholders are still getting used to it.
“I hope we will work hard to improve our registration going forward. SETAs (skills training authorities) have also struggled to register apprentices and COVID-19 has been seen as a factor due to limited travel between regions, which has affected recruitment,” the minister said.
Responding to the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Nzimande said he committed that through SETA, the department would increase its on-the-job training targets to 107,000 for the financial year beginning April 1, 2022.
He said the department had also committed to sending 15,000 TVET college graduates into on-the-job training, 5,000 more than the SONA commitment.
“We are also targeting 20,500 opportunities for learners, [including] 22,500 for handicrafts; 31,300 for those who complete their training and 148,000 for learners enrolled in various other skill development programs such as digital skills, horticulture and horticulture,” he said.
Decade of the Artisan
The Department of Higher Education and Training has declared 2014-2024 the ‘Decade of Craftsmen’ to promote crafts as a career choice for young South Africans.
The Decade of Artisans was born out of the country’s lack of skilled artisans to sustain industry and economic growth, prompting the department to identify artisan training as a priority area for skills development.
The company was launched under the motto “It’s cool to be an artisan of the 21st century.”
The artisan company was launched in response to the demand for the successful implementation of the country’s strategic infrastructure projects, which included the construction of roads, schools, universities, harbors, power plants and other social and economic infrastructure during the fourth administration.
As a result, the department initiated the Centers of Specialization (CoS) program and implemented it as a pilot project with planned intake from the 2019, 2021 and 2022 academic years.
Due to the demand for the Centers of Specialization programme, it was implemented as a model for the delivery of vocational programs in Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. – SAnews.gov.za
