The DBE recently embarked on a training intervention session for teachers and subject advisors in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province who are tasked with the delivery of vocational and occupationally oriented subjects at Levels 1 – 4 in Schools of Skill (SoS), as well as at Grades 8 and 9 in Public Ordinary Schools (POS). The sessions form part of the Education for Employment (E4E) programme, which is supported and funded by the European Union (EU). The DBE, together the Departments of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and Employment and Labour (DEL), are direct beneficiaries of the E4E programme directed mainly at unemployed South African youth.
The DBE’s participation in the E4E programme is focused on the piloting of the Three Stream Model (TSM). The Implementation Master Plan (IMP) of the TSM comprises of 10 focus areas, chief amongst them being capacity building of teachers and subject advisors who are tasked with the delivery of Vocational and Occupationally oriented subjects within the TSM curriculum.
Theoretical training on the applicable Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in the Vocational and Occupationally oriented subjects was previously centrally provided to Provincial Task Teams (PTTs) by the DBE’s National Training Team (NTT). The PTTs were then to follow up with similar cascaded interventions to relevant teachers in their areas of responsibility within the different provinces and districts. The theoretical intervention was to be followed by capacity building of the identified teachers and subject advisors in the practical skills components of the Vocational and Occupationally oriented subjects. The DBE partnered with accredited private service providers and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to offer the training.
Between 16 - 21 June 2024, the DBE partnered with Shukela Training Centre (STC), located at Mt Edgecombe in KZN to train an initially estimated number of 550 teachers and subject advisors in the province on three Vocational oriented pathway subjects namely, Civil Technology, Electrical Technology and Mechanical Technology, as well as the Occupational pathway subjects: Sheet Metalwork and Personal Care: Hairdressing. Due to the large number of teachers involved, the 550 nominated teachers were subdivided into two groups.
The Electrical Technology and Mechanical vocational oriented subjects training was conducted at the Shukela Training Centre in Mt Edgecombe. Meadowlands Technical High School in Chatsworth was the venue used for the training of the Civil Technology. This comprised of Building and Plastering, Plumbing and Woodworking subjects. Damorosa Prevocational Training school was used for the training of the Occupational subjects, Sheet Metalwork and Spraypainting and Bodyworks as well as Hairdressing. Throughout the training period, the DBE was ably represented by a group of experienced volunteer administrative support staff, including officials from the Communications Chief Directorate, Chief Education Specialists for technical subjects (CES) from the Maths, Science and Technology (MST) Directorate, as well as the TSM/E4E Project Management Unit (PMU). The training co-ordination team was also supported by Dr Moses Simelane, Chief Director: Curriculum Implementation and Monitoring and Mr Jabulani Ngcobo, Director for Inclusive Education.
The KZN training intervention brings to four the total number of provinces where practical skills training has now taken place on CAPS for Vocational and Occupationally oriented subjects in the implementation of the TSM/E4E project. The intention is to have all nine provinces trained by the end of the current 2024 academic year.