Assessing the management of TVET Colleges in the development of technical skills in the North West Province

MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2018South Africa's problem of a high unemployment emanates from the poor educational outcomes; the government has formulated a strategy through the National Development Plan to address the skills shortage in the country. Legislative frameworks such as the White Paper on Post-School Education and Training have been introduced in an effort to strengthen educational institutions. At the centre of all the skills development efforts is the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, Colleges have become an important catalyst to absorb the millions of the NEET (Not in education or employed or training) population. This empirical study aims to assess the management of TVET colleges in the development of technical skills for students in the North-West province. Firstly, an assessment will be made on the management of skills development within that college to determine the effectiveness of the staff development programmes, status of partnerships between colleges and industry, and to examine if Colleges are providing students with relevant skills that meet labour market demand. A mixed methods approach was adopted in this study and the respondents consisted of all employees working in TVET colleges in the North-West province. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a form of a questionnaire. Major findings obtained in this study revealed that skills development programmes do not empower employees to perform complex tasks in an increasingly demanding and rapidly growing TVET sector. Moreover, the study uncovered that there is little engagement between colleges and industry. The subsequent recommendations include, among others, that there should be elaborate predetermined objectives that form a foundation for the existence of any partnership between a College and other stakeholders.Master