OVERVIEW
Education and training Creating a skilled workforce is a national priority.
UCT researchers’ work on epileptic seizures includes examining a mouse hippocampal brain slice prior to a patch-clamp electrophysiological recording. Image: Dr Joseph Raimondo/UCT.
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kills training is a national priority and several institutions are supporting this goal in the Western Cape, including three academic universities, one comprehensive university, one university of technology and six Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. Unisa, the country's biggest distance learning institution, has a campus in Cape Town and a service centre in George. The National Skills Authority (NSA) works with Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) in carrying out the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS). The Human Resource Development Council of South Africa (HRDCSA) is an over-arching body that gives guidance to the many institutions working on skills development and training. It is managed by the National Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The strategic goal of the DHET is to create “a capable and skilled workforce for inclusive growth”. TVET colleges have been asked to concentrate on 13 trade areas, including bricklayers, millwrights, boilermakers and riggers. R16.5-billion has been allocated by national government to skills development and infrastructure over the medium term. The Western Cape has further honed the priority sectors down to five and is keeping track of the young people who join its programmes. The Western Cape Provincial Government’s Apprenticeship Game Changer aimed to introduce 32 500 qualified apprentices into the labour market by 2019. R1-billion was allocated over a three-year time frame. A Centres of Specialisation Programme has been introduced by
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2020
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Sector Insight A R1-billion Biomedical Research Institute is under construction. the DHET to tackle priority skills. False Bay TVET College is a Centre of Specialisation with a focus on training riggers and mechanical fitters. With the oil and gas sector expected to grow rapidly in the near future, trained artisans can expect to find employment quickly. The College of Cape TVET is concentrating on plumbing and automotive motor mechanics. False Bay T VET College has campuses in Fish Hoek, Muizenberg, Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Westlake. The College of Cape Town (CCT) has seven campuses from the city centre to Guguletu and Wynberg.
