Monday, 29 February 2016
OVER the past year, the construction of South Africa’s two new universities has given more than 400 young people the chance to learn skills in a structured workplace experience towards a qualification.
According to Mark Burk, a member of the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) New Universities Project, the programme is a practical initiative by DHET to implement its Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) to address the demand for skills in support of South Africa’s National Infrastructure Plan.
The construction of new buildings and infrastructure for the Sol Plaatje University (SPU) and the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) is the first phase of a building programme that will continue over 10 to 12 years to provide state-of-the-art facilities for 7 500 students at SPU and 18 000 students at UMP.
The DHET and its project team wanted the project to include broadbased black economic empowerment, local participation, employment and skills development, so the contracts for construction included a requirement for the contractors to provide 250 hours of workplace experience for every million rands of expenditure.
The work learning opportunities have to contribute towards the attainment of:
• A part-time or full occupational qualification registered on the National Qualifications Framework;
• A trade qualification leading to a listed trade;
• A national diploma registered on the National Qualification Frameworks; or,
• Registration in a professional category by a recognised professional body or statutory council.
This innovative focus on structured workplace learning responds directly to difficulties experienced by many learners who struggle to find workplaces where they can finish the practical component of their qualifications.
“It is not unusual for learners to take as long as a year or more to find placement for structured work learning,” Mr Burk explained. “When properly structured, supervisors and mentors are able to work with learners and share their experience until the learners can operate independently.”
Since construction started in October last year, a total of 443 learners were provided with 31 206 days of workplace learning experience.
The contractors recruited the learners from local communities and education and training institutions such as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges and Universities of Technology (UoTs), and worked with the institutions to establish the requirements for the different qualifications, record hours of practical work learning and provide reports to the institutions.
Source: DHET NEWS