Author(s): Phiwokuhle Ngubane,Dumsani Wilfred Mncube,Maria Siwela Mabusela,Sunday Olawale Olaniran
This paper explored Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET) stakeholders’ experiences while implementing Work-Based Education (WBE), also known as Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) for students in rural ecology. The study was conducted at two campuses of the Umfolozi TVET College, in the northern KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The National Certificate Vocational (NCV) is a new and modern qualification offered at Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges since January 2007. It is offered at Levels 2, 3 and 4 of the National Qualifications Framework which are equivalent to Grades 10, 11 and 12. The NCV programmes were earmarked for the study in order to explore the suitability of these programmes for the rural-based learners. Purposive sampling was employed to identify the sample size of six participants, which comprised campus managers, senior lecturers and WBE champions. The findings revealed that college management does not prioritise the needs of TVET students during implementation of WBE programme among rural based students. It was also discovered that college management seems not to understand their role in ensuring compliance with regard to the implementation of WBE. It was evident that there is a need not only to maintain strong ties with existing host-employers, but also to ensure that new host-employers are recruited to help address the shortage of places for students to do their WBE. The study recommends that there should be a clear vision for the implementation of WIL in the rural context, and that the vision should be clearly communicated to all role players to ensure effective implementation of the programme.