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A study among 113 South African engineering students from the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) college sector has revealed that the majority (79) believe that their qualification is “undervalued and does not guarantee employment”. However, 34 participants maintained that it is in demand in the labour market.
The study was conducted by Anthony Tolika Sibiya of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and Nceba Nyembezi and David Bogopa of Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
An article titled ‘TVET engineering students’ perceptions of the value of their qualification and the prospects of employment’, based on the study was published in the Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training in 2021.
TVET colleges in South Africa are viewed as the Cinderella of the post-school education and training sector with reports of poor infrastructure, high failure rates and incoherence in the qualifications of lecturers plaguing them. Furthermore, there is a stigma of low standards attached to these colleges with calls for the recapitalisation of the sector.
The study explored how selected TVET engineering students from two colleges in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province viewed their qualifications and employment prospects in the light of youth unemployment in general and among TVET graduates.
“While the unemployment rate among South Africans with a tertiary qualification stood at 7%, it appeared to be a staggering 33% among TVET graduates in 2017,” the authors wrote.
The main findings are:
• 34 students perceived there is a high demand for a TVET engineering qualification;
• The perception of most of the students (79) is that a TVET qualification does not guarantee employment;
• A qualification counts for more than experience; and
• Job scarcity is more of a problem than a lack of skills.
Students lack experience, training
The authors refer to an article by Loni Prinsloo (2011) in Engineering News and one by Bongani Nkosi in Times Live (2017), who assert that, while thousands of young South African graduates face the challenge of unemployment, “TVET graduates may feel particular disappointment since successive governments have placed hope in the role of TVET in developing skills for employment.”
They refer to Prinsloo (2011) who argued that, although engineering and science graduates, especially those from TVET institutions, are given knowledge and some practical training, “the majority of these students lack the necessary experience and training, ultimately leaving them unemployable and unemployed”.
Referring to the work of other scholars, Sibiya, Nyembezi and Bogopa indicate “there is a suggestion that TVET colleges have limited equipment for practical training and a shortage of workshops for practical or technical skills training for students”.
From this, students lack the technical expertise and industrial experience needed to meet industry expectations. Graduates need additional mentoring and supervision once they are employed.
The aim of the study was to understand TVET engineering students’ perceptions of the value of their qualifications and their prospects of employment.
“Soliciting their views is critical, given that the frequent narratives or reports and the literature in general on unemployment and its causes tend to ignore the voices and perceptions of students about their qualifications,” the authors wrote.
The findings showed that 34 participants perceived a TVET engineering qualification to be in high demand in South Africa. “Whereas these participants acknowledged the prevalence of youth unemployment, especially among graduates, they were confident that, with their TVET engineering qualification, they would be employed.”
One of the participants, a 21-year-old third-year female renewable engineering student at one of the TVET colleges, said: “There is a high demand for renewable courses in the mainstream economy and labour market, therefore getting a job will be easy. I am confident because our supply of electricity is under a lot of pressure; I think my skills will be in demand because there are not many electricians around, more especially in the Eastern Cape province.”
Qualifications no job guarantee
On the other side of the spectrum, 79 participants perceived that TVET qualifications, in general, do not guarantee immediate or direct employment after graduation.
“For these participants, the high level of unemployment in South Africa is a consequence of an economy that is not growing and, therefore, unable to generate more jobs, especially for the number of skilled people available,” according to the researchers.
A 22-year-old participant said: ”Renewable energy qualification has just been introduced in South Africa, so it will take a while for the job market to grow, and [it] will not be easy to get [a] job … Besides, finding a job in South Africa is difficult, I have seen it before; some people just do piece jobs, and they do not get [permanent, full-time] jobs … they have graduated for, even with their engineering qualification.”
Furthermore, some students in the engineering stream reported that a qualification is not enough. There is a process that a jobseeker must undergo to be trade-tested.
Sibiya, Nyembezi and Bogopa indicate that there is a view that job advertisements in newspapers hardly ever stipulate a TVET qualification as a requirement, “which, in itself, casts doubt on its value”.
The authors assert that this is backed up by the fact that a growing number of graduates – even those with a university qualification – lack employment opportunities. Consequently, the participants viewed their TVET qualification to be lacking in value.
Internships should be a must
Some participants reported that the requirement that graduates should have work experience is an unfair practice as a qualification is more crucial than experience. Requiring experience of graduates is an unfair barrier to employment and should be done away with.
The majority suggested that voluntary service without payment or a stipend should be compulsory for all graduates, to give them the opportunity to gain practical training and exposure. Small and medium enterprises and cooperatives should be established to contribute to the economy and should be supported by the state to enable them to thrive.
Participants also recommended that students should study further to arm themselves with research expertise and skills, while the state should fund these postgraduate studies, according to the study.
The authors assert that re-examining and revising the core design of curricula and developing it in partnership with business could resolve some challenges.
They suggest that this approach “may serve to resolve some of the problems and barriers entry graduates face when they attempt to enter the formal economy, especially as newly qualified engineers”.
Realign education with the job market
Furthermore, the risk of unemployment appears to be minimal when there are strong links between educational outcomes and occupational positions – “which, in the case of the South African TVET system, appears not to be the case. Based on the experience of many TVET graduates, quite the contrary appears to be the reality”.
The researchers recommend that educational paths should be realigned with employment opportunities in the workplace.
“Despite graduates from the TVET education sector finding it difficult to secure employment, TVET remains important to the economy of South Africa, not only for enabling young people to find employment but also for making it possible for them to create employment for themselves and others.”
Government should continue to place emphasis on TVET qualifications but should consider restructuring them in line with infrastructure development. The TVET sector should collaborate with industry to create more opportunities by training young people interested in becoming artisans, the authors wrote.
Linkages between colleges and industries are imperative to reduce unemployment. “This may require rethinking the centralisation of TVET curriculum development and provision and affording companies the opportunity to contribute to curriculum development for TVET programmes,” Sibiya, Nyembezi and Bogopa argue.
The alignment between education and industry is likely to lead to the work readiness required of TVET graduates and to closing the skills gap, they suggest.
– University World News