President, FET principals to talk skills development

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma will on Wednesday meet principals of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to deliberate on the central role FETs play within the country's skills development strategy, particularly government's new infrastructure development priority programme.

The meeting -- to be attended by the principals from all 50 FET colleges, the chairpersons of college councils and deputy principals -- will seek to address the current level of skills development and discuss how the country can produce the scarce skills that are necessary to make the comprehensive national infrastructure development programme a success.

During the meeting, the principals will get an opportunity to interact directly with the President to enable a holistic understanding of the role of the institutions, their achievements and challenges, the pivotal role they play in human resource development in the country, and the way forward.

The turnaround of FET colleges, which will enable them to occupy a more strategic role in the country's development, is dealt with extensively in the Higher Education and Training Department's Green Paper for Post-School Education and Training. 

The National Plan Vision 2030 further recommends that the colleges should be strengthened to deliver on the required programmes, increase throughput rate and expand their infrastructure to produce at least 30 000 artisans a year.

Some of the crucial skills produced by FETs include civil engineering, building construction, finance and economics.

Zuma will be accompanied by the Ministers of Higher Education, Economic Development, Basic Education, Science and Technology, Public Enterprises, Public Works and Rural Development, as well as all nine provincial Education MECs. - BuaNews