BRIDGING THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT DEFICIT THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

South West Gauteng TVET College (SWGC) has had numerous meetings with various organisations and institutions in an effort to strike partnership deals for work-integrated learning opportunities for students and in-service training for lecturers and the resultant outcome was the signing of the Memorandums of Understanding on the 14th of June 2022 at the Roodepoort Campus.
The historic ceremonial signing of the MoU’s to forge relationships between SWGC and several institutions, which the college reached agreements with, was attended by power-houses of the industry such as Mr. Sakhumzi Maqubela from Sakhumzi Restaurant, Ms. Sanele Khoza from the Zodwa Khoza Foundation, Mr. Themba Ndlovu from Regenysis Management (PTY) Limited, Mr. Lucio Trenti the CEO of the Steel Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA), Ms. Mmase Tlatsi Chairperson of Tsebo Foundation, Ms. Tsiko Machaba the Executive Director of Lethatsi Education and Mr. Roy Maponya from Dr. Richard Maponya Institute.
When Mr. Themba Ndlovu took to the podium, one of the things he touched on, was the fact that more needed to be done in Public-Private Partnerships, particularly that businesses need to grow beyond their catchment areas. Build such businesses that will talk to one another, moving the South African economy forward and creating jobs for the unemployed youth. Instead of businesses working in silos and creating unhealthy competition amongst each other, they need to work together and ensure that they all strive to succeed beyond their wildest expectations.

Ms. Sanele Khoza echoed the words of Mr. Ndlovu, saying that businesses, particularly black businesses should work together and stop working in silos for the betterment of the nation. She also mentioned that the Zodwa Khoza Foundation based in Diepkloof Soweto, which services the elderly, women and the youth shares the same belief with the college, of giving people opportunities through hand-ups and not hand-outs. Following the mantra that says “Teach a person how to fish and you will feed them for a lifetime”.
      
South West Gauteng College Acting Principal, Joey Monyamane expressed appreciation for the partnership between the college and the several institutions. “As a college, we are very much excited and believe that these relationships are a step in the right direction to opening doors for a brighter future for our students. These partnerships add to the Service Level Agreements the college has with 19 SETA’s in the country. With these kinds of opportunities, we can safely say indeed the future looks bright for our students”, said the Acting Principal.