Scarce and Critical Skills: Equipping FET College Staff to meet this challenge

1. Scarce and Critical Skills: Equipping FET College Staff to meet this challenge Fiona Cameron-Brown In-Country Representative South Africa Faculty of Education and Arts School of Education 15th November 2007

2. Introduction • Vocational Education and Training: The Context • Knowledge and skills required in the TVET sector • College • Industry/Work place • Equipping TVET Educators in SA • A model • Building bridges A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

3. Vocational Further Education and Training: The context Profound and constant change • Educators’ roles in the education and training system • The environment in which they operate • The sector remains in transformation; focus is on • on widening access • addressing study opportunity inequities of the past(Gamble, et al, 2007). A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

4. International trends reflected in Skills shortage • Reflected in, e.g. Australia, Britain and USA • Pressure on providers of vocational education and training (VET) • Emergence of “new” educational “sub-discipline” Technical and Vocational Education and Training(TVET) ... concerned with the acquisition of knowledge and skills for the world of work...These include: Apprenticeship Training, Vocational Education, Technical Education, Technical-Vocational Education (TVE), Occupational Education (OE), Vocational Education and Training (VET), Career and Technical Education (CTE), Workforce Education (WE), Workplace Education (WE) etc. UNESCO (2007) A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

5. The changing and/or varied profile of TVET learner S/he is getting younger, and in SA (Gamble, et al, 2007). A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

6. TVET learner profile (continued) Impact of poverty • No home or family support • Exposed to domestic and/or social abuse • Second language learners (English) Need for academic and ‘emotional’ support that addresses • Social needs • Emotional needs Problems associated with poverty “come with” the learnerinto the college environment A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

7. TVET learner profile (continued) Parity of esteem A trade is not a career of choice; it is often not even a second choice, but a last resort. A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

8. What knowledge, skills and expertise do TVET educators need? Current profile—FET College Sector 8% of all teaching staff at FET colleges had less than a diploma Table1: Lack of qualification by learning area/field Table 2: Percentage of staff with industry qualifications A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

9. Knowledge, skills and expertise continued FET teaching staff identified the following • a good understanding of education principles and practices • subject matter expertise • understanding the NQF • assessment • staying current in their fields of expertise • curriculum and materials development (including responsiveness to local demands) • learner support (including guidance and counselling) • dealing with second language learners and cultural diversity A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

10. Qualifications—FET College sector • Currently no fit-for-purpose qualification or continuum of qualifications for TVET educators • Policy framework for FET educator qualifications and/or requirements is being developed A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

11. Knowledge, skills and expertise continued Current profile—Industry/Work place • Sector ETQA minimum requirements • subject matter expertise • Accredited assessors, have one of the following units standards, as a minimum A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

12. Industry/Work place continued • No formal survey of industry or workplace trainers, but reports reveal • 50% underutilisation of state owned enterprises’ (Transnet, Eskom, Metrorail) training facilities (Grawitzky, 2007) • Private business reports (CDE, 2007) • difficulty finding trainers • that assessors are poorly trained • that training is too theoretical A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

13. What can we conclude? A shortage of qualified technical instructors has emerged as an impediment to increasing training capacity....(The same is true for workplace assessors and mentors) (Grawitzky, 2007, p 23) A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

14. Ok, so I know how to check that someone is competent...? But how the @#**&&% do I teachthis stuff? A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

15. More complex role for, and emphasis on, TVET practitioners • skills shortages • the imperative for South Africa to become globally competitive • an environment constantly in flux because of • technological development • systemic changes. A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

16. TVET practitioners are expected to: • assist organisations to achieve a competitive advantage • interpret and implement new curricula • be able to deliver training anywhere, anytime • facilitate learning (as opposed to the teach—'expert’ centred model) • respond to compliance and legislative changes • ‘personalise’ learning—a focus on the individual • fast track skills development to meet market demands • advise industry about training and education/skills development • maintain the currency of their own technical skills A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

17. Implications • Trainers in industry and in colleges also require expertise in teaching and learning methodologies. • This heralds a profound shift from professional and technical expert to professional educator (Hensley, 2007). A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

18. Equipping TVET trainers and teachers in South Africa A model for training educators and facilitators into the TVET • A combination of recognition of prior learning for subject matter expertise • Formal development of training and facilitation competencies (pedagogy) A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

19. Memorandum of understanding • The University of Newcastle • Cape Peninsula University of Technology • To develop fit-for-purpose courses to address the training needs of FET college lecturers and TVET practitioners, generally. A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

20. The University of Newcastle Experience in • recognition of prior learning, and working with mature students who may be embarking on a second or third career • problem-based learning • flexible learning approaches and new methodologies that accommodate the needs of working and distance learners • other developing countries, • applying a similar model • also builds capacity in the home faculties • possibility for developing strong international collaborations between the two institutions and countries A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

21. The South African challenge: building bridges between sectors and bands Training of TVET practitioners for FET colleges and South African industry cuts across • occupational sectors • education bands A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

22. ... [the] principle [that] the single national qualifications framework should enable the respective bands to cohere and to articulate with each other and support career path progression. The guiding principle for the work of the QCs [Quality Council] will be partnership and collaboration........... Section 65, Ministers of Education and Labour Joint Policy Statement,26 October 2007 A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

23. An opportunity? Pioneer this principle • Artisans articulate between the qualifications frameworks that fall into two quality councils, i.e. • the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations • Higher Education Quality Council

24. Potential TVET related qualification continuum or pathway A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

25. Requirements for the development of appropriate training for TVET practitioners in South Africa • Commitment • Expertise • Capacity • Human • Financial A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

26. Key Role Players Quality Council for Trades and Occupations National Department of Education Department of Labour College Provincial Education Departments Organised labour Council for Higher Education (CHE) Professional bodies CPUT-UoN Partnership Learner TVET practitioners A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

27. Possible roll-out framework HEI provider or consortium Professional educator qualifications M Ed College Learner TVET practitioners, on-site coaches and mentors (TVET and subject matter experts) B Ed (TVET) TVET Practitioner qualification Qualifications Registered and funded by the Department of Labour because of occupational focus Sub-contracted private providers as support(potential for public-private partnerships to enhance capacity) A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007

28. A presentation to 2nd Southern Africa FET Conference 15th November 2007 Fiona Cameron-Brown In-Country Representative South Africa fiona@fionacameronconsulting.co.za