5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to think about the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being a valuable and feasible option for advancing their careers.

The Deputy Minister was talking in the course of an oversight visit towards the post-school education and coaching (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this 7 days.

Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development during the region.

The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.

Gondwe's visits aimed at examining the state of readiness of better education institutions across the nation, in advance of your 2025 academic year.

In the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get pride in acquiring artisan capabilities as they provide terrific entrepreneurship alternatives.

"I am very encouraged by what I'm seeing at TVET colleges, I believe they are the future of this country. TVETs are producing artisans with much needed skills [and] also offer opportunities for learners to acquire future skills, such as robotics, AI [Artificial intelligence], and coding," Gondwe said.

At the second part of the visit, check here college students at CPUT expressed considerations about college student residences website together with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the recognized issues.

The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.

Over the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by crucial senior officers from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

The Deputy Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.

The issue of funding and administrative issues confronted via the NSFAS was inside the spotlight during the Free State leg with the visits.

"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with no delays. Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat and to buy hygiene products. This is important for their get more info sense of wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.

Gondwe embarked on the state of readiness visits orbit tvet college following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the special meeting of the Post Education and Training sector held in January 2025, to establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.

The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– more info SAnews.gov.za