5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being a important and practical option for advancing their careers.

The Deputy Minister was speaking through an oversight visit to the post-school education and schooling (PSET) establishments within the Western Cape this week.

Gondwe described the TVET colleges as essential for job creation and youth skills development inside the place.

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

Gondwe's visits aimed toward assessing the state of readiness of bigger education institutions across the nation, ahead with the 2025 educational year.

Through the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to just take pride in obtaining artisan abilities as they supply wonderful entrepreneurship possibilities.

"I'm 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, students at CPUT expressed worries about student residences together check here with other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the identified troubles.

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

In the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by key senior officials 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 problem of funding and tvet colleges open for late applications administrative worries confronted through the NSFAS was while in the spotlight in the course of the Free State leg on 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 sense of wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.

Gondwe embarked on the state of readiness visits 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 elangeni tvet college 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.
– SAnews.gov.za