Secondly, we have a public TVET college system that is ideally placed to play its role in support of the call from employers and the state for more artisans. Currently these colleges are not all well positioned to perform this function due to a wide range of challenges. The notion of 'Centres of Specialisation' provides the DHET and its partners with the opportunity to develop sites of good practice which others can follow in due course.  Thirdly, by motivating employers across  both the public and private sectors to partner with these TVET  colleges to build a quality apprenticeship system it is hoped  that society's confidence in these institutions will grow and  they will become both institutions of choice for apprentices and partners of choice in training for employers. Fourthly, by selecting certain colleges to focus on particular trades, we are laying the foundation for differentiation in the college system.  And whilst some other colleges may later specialise in the same trades, it is desirable that others develop expertise in other trades and occupations so there is reduced duplication and increased quality Specialisation. And finally, this approach has been adopted for pragmatic reasons: the resources (both human and financial) required to lift the performance of the TVET college system, from where it currently is to where it needs to be, are considerable. We simply do not have the people or funds to do this work across a very wide range of colleges all at once. 

Dual System Methodology

A summative evaluation of earlier pilot projects concluded that for purposes of the dual system, the NC(V)programme do not integrate well with the requirements of the dual system apprenticeships and specifically do not support rapid rotation between theory, practical and the workplace exposure. This led to the understanding that it was necessary to implement the new QCTO occupational trade qualifications, supported by a National Occupational Curriculum Content (NOCC) which describes in detail the theory, practical and workplace components of the learning process, describes how it should be integrated and is a precursor to the development of quality modern learning material and an appropriate trade test. It is also clear that there must be a close partnership between employers and the TVET College if the programme is to succeed.                                           

Centres of Specialisation

Spread across the country are 34 such Centres of Specialisation being developed and capacitated so that from January 2019 the dual system apprenticeships can start. Each province is represented and a total of 20 of the 50 TVET Colleges in South Africa are participating. This is not a pilot project any more: this is a planned and controlled implementation which will in the years to come be expanded to other colleges and in other trades. This initiative puts the employer back in the driver's seat – the success of this programme hinges on how well we rebuild the partnership arrangements between employers and Colleges; how open are we to listen to and take on-board employer needs and preferences; how keen are we to ensure that our College facilitators are exposed to and understand the workplace to ensure that what they deliver in the classroom and training workshop is relevant and up-to-date.