Entrepreneurship hubs established for TVET colleges students

• Published date: 12 May 2022
• Publication title: South African Official News

The Higher Education, Science and Innovation Ministry has established entrepreneurship hubs at TVET colleges to support students to move into self-employment after completion of programmes.

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande, revealed this in Parliament on Thursday while delivering the department's 2022 Budget Vote.

In the current financial year, the Minister said the department projected that the skills levy would increase to R20.6 billion from last year's R18.9 billion.

Nzimande said the department had also taken the decision to prioritise the sector by re-allocating additional funds from the National Skills Fund.

'We have begun a process of crafting one country, one skills plan (Master Skills Plan). This process will promote a more efficient and effective mechanism for our country-wide skills planning.

'As part of my service level agreement with the SETAs, they will incorporate government priorities - especially those that address the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality as captured in the National Development Plan - in their Sector Skills Plans.'

These would therefore develop their Annual Performance Plans (APPs) to address skills challenges in various sectors of the economy and country in general.

During the 2022/23 financial year, the Ministry will increase its work-based learning programmes from 78 317 to 107 000.

'We will also Increase our learners registered in skills development programmes from 43 885 in 2020/21 to 148 000 in 2022/23 and increase our learners entering artisanal programmes from 10 302 in 2020/21 to 22 000 in 2022/23.'

The Ministry anticipates that 20 500 learners will pass the artisan trade test in 2022/23, a 5000 increase from the last financial year.

Learners who complete learnerships will also increase from 24 136 in 2020/21 to 31 300 in this financial year while learners who complete internships would...