Assessing the effectiveness of the uMfolozi TVET College- Industry Partnership.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness of the uMfolozi Technical Vocational and Education (TVET) College partnership with the local industry. The introduction of the Green Paper in Post-School Training in 2012 lead to the transfer of TVET Colleges from the Department of Basic Education (DOE) to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) with a responsibility of addressing the skills shortage. To address the skills needs of the country, TVET Colleges are expected to be in partnership with different stakeholders that can provide relevant workplace for the staff and the students. TVET College-industry partnership are driven by the demand for skills to reduce unemployment and poverty. Partnership between uMfolozi TVET College with local industry is necessary to ensure that students are equipped with skills needed by the labour market. The motivation of the study was to determine the factors that contribute to the success as well as the challenges that can impede on the success of partnership. The study employed a qualitative research approach which incorporated purposive sampling and thematic analysis. Semi-structured, in depth interviews were conducted with fourteen participants from uMfolozi TVET College, Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI) and uMhlathuze Local Municipality. The respondents established that uMfolozi TVET College partnership with local industry should be driven by demand rather than supply. The study findings also discovered that there is no regulatory framework for TVET-college industry partnership. The study also revealed that the TVET College has not taken advantage of local industry to build and ensure capacity building. The study recommended that the DHET should develop a policy framework which will give guidance to the implementation of college-industry partnership. The study concluded that for effective and successful partnership there should be an open communication and trust relationship between the stakeholders. The limitations of the study were the busy schedule of the participants and the fact that there were very few South African research studies on TVET-industry partnership. The intention of the study is to improve the relationship between the TVET College and the industry because this partnership plays an important part in the completion of the whole qualification for the student to be certified. Key words: partnership, leadership, communication, capacity building, skills