Effective Education for Employment: Focus Group Workshop Cape Town, South Africa

Transcription

1 Effective Education for Employment: Focus Group Workshop Cape Town, South Africa Sponsored by Edexcel and prepared by White Loop Jim Playfoot Creative Director, White Loop

2 Contents Introduction 3 Summary of workshop discussions 3 Improving the status of vocational education 3 Learning from international best practice 4 Improving the quality of apprenticeships 4 Finding quality teachers 5 Improving soft and professional skills 5 Vision statements for education in South Africa 5 Ideas & action plans 6 Appendix 9 2

3 Effective Education for Employment: Focus Group Workshop Introduction The idea behind the Effective Education for Employment Vision Workshops is simple: bring together a group of well-respected education experts and industry leaders and ask them to develop a vision for the design and implementation of a 21 st century education system. Workshops start with a wide-ranging discussion of key issues, followed by a session to develop vision statements and associated ideas and action plans that might bring about the desired future. Participants were encouraged to focus on national or regional needs, in this case those of South Africa, whilst considering the wider global context. In Cape Town, participants were extremely positive about the role industry has to play in improving the relevance of education and skills development as well as being conscious of the need to learn from best practice across the globe. The social and economic context of South Africa is daunting, but the only way to build a positive future is by creating increased educational opportunities for an under-skilled workforce through partnerships and investment in education. Summary of workshop discussions What follows is a description of the key issues and points raised during the discussions amongst participants in the workshop. The discussion was facilitated by Henry Playfoot, following a brief presentation of the findings from the recently published report: Effective Education for Employment: A Global Perspective. Two key statements can be drawn from the discussions: We need to make curricula and skills development responsive to changing industry needs We need to introduce work ready skills and behaviours into all levels of education design The summary below represents the varied input of participants over the course of the session: Improving the status of vocational education A move from 150 technical to 50 FET (Further Education and Training) colleges has seen a change from a 3 month to a 3 year curriculum in South Africa which has brought with it a set of associated problems. One participant noted that as a result of 3

4 this change we have youngsters coming through a high level, nationally benchmarked curriculum which industry considers outdated. Concerns were expressed that the new curriculum has been shoved down industry s throat, they weren t consulted properly. The present system is not designed for apprenticeships or skills development programmes. Participants were sympathetic regarding the bewildering amount of choice available to young people; the scope for kids is so large; how can you know what you want to do? School leavers are not guided in the choices they need to make in continuing education. However, for this very reason most were not too worried about students coming out of Vocational education with a National Certificate Vocational (NCV) qualification and not being employable, stating that having a broader base in your educational approach is good. This opinion was qualified with the belief that such education must be supplemented with practical workplace experience, with one participant expressing concern that the problem is very few colleges in South Africa have the capacity to provide this. There is a real need to set up the right partnerships in South Africa so long term paths for training/careers can be set out, which is yet to be addressed. The concept of transportability in the mid 90 s created the opportunity for students to move from one area of certification to another, carrying through credits. However, walking out with a NCV certificate from an FET college doesn t get you a job. As one participant put it, that guy walking out with a certificate is not a plumber yet. Learning from international best practice Participants felt that much could be learned from the UK where schools have links with FET colleges, helping guide children in their career; We can feed industry with artisans who have a bind with what they want to become. German industry training was described as really first world compared to South Africa. South Africa needs to aspire to and learn from the German system. Participants noted that Australia has struggled with very similar problems to South Africa and has found some solutions. Educational institutions are beginning to draw people away from pure academia and make vocational education sexy. They go to industry first, ask what is needed, and then train people in those skills. The challenge starts at primary school as students are less equipped with basic literacy than they once were. There is a huge problem with where we are at the moment. The drop out rate from the vocational system is due to not having gone through proper education at school level. Some FET sector colleges are left with 20 per cent of their original intake in certain courses. Improving the quality of apprenticeships Fears were expressed that colleges are supposed to be the vehicle for apprenticeship schemes but the wheels have fallen off. With NCVs (National Certificate Vocational) the focus is too theoretical; very little practical work is done. After someone has gone through an apprenticeship, what happens after that? It was felt that 4

5 colleges have to focus on setting up partnerships with industry, if they want to win the skills race. In South Africa, as one participant put it we really hope this merger with industry will take place. As an apprentice, there are no mentors that help students phase into industry. Even medical doctors often don t have skilled mentors to guide them. On a more hopeful note, the design of Learnerships, a South African apprenticeship model, is now built through consultation with industry rather than academia. Finding quality teachers It was noted that getting a quality workforce is becoming increasingly difficult because teaching is not sexy. Furthermore, staff members have been leaving further education colleges because some lecturers earn a smaller salary than school teachers. Concern was also expressed over the lack of skilled lecturing staff. A number of teacher training colleges have been shut down and there has been a 10 year vacuum in which many teachers haven t been trained properly. A problem has developed with excellent experts who don t know how to teach. Participants fear that there is a lack industry mentors in South Africa. Improving soft and professional skills A lack of soft skills, such as etiquette in the workplace, communication and dealing with people is a huge problem in South Africa. One participant noted that we are not teaching skills, we are ticking off outcomes. Some examples of best practice were given: We are on the right track and are verifying what you at Edexcel are doing, working with credits through the national qualification framework and setting up a system which involves students submitting a portfolio in the place of examinations. Vision statements for education in South Africa Following the discussion of key topics and concerns described above, workshop participants were invited to develop a series of vision statements to capture what a desirable and plausible future for education in South Africa might look like. The statements below were determined as a set of possible ideal scenarios for South Africa. The statements below were agreed upon collectively and then voted on individually. Vision statements (in order of popularity) A real and genuine collaboration between government, industry and educators that aligns education and career pathways, and develops an education policy that works with economic policy Well managed educational institutions with optimum use of resources Personally aware, engaged and accountable teachers/trainers who can understand and motivate students 5

6 Optimum management in the implementation of literacy, numeracy, life skills and technology at all levels of education Vocational curricula that are clearly related and applied to the NCV context *1 Provision of relevant subject and teacher training Involve private education providers in the development of national education policy Notes *1 The National Certificate (Vocational) is a new curriculum that was introduced to public further education and training colleges across South Africa in The qualifications produced are designed to provide a practical component of study in a real or simulated workplace environment. Ideas and action plans The attendees were split into two working groups. Each group, working autonomously, was asked to briefly summarise specific actions needed to realise one or more of the vision statements outlined above: Group 1 Group 1 chose to elaborate an action plan for the following vision statement: A real and genuine collaboration between government, industry and educators that aligns education and career pathways, and develops an education policy that works with economic policy. Summary of idea A flexible, reactive further education system linked to industry demands, built on significant industry input. Outcomes This system would create a more flexible, reactive and open relationship between industry and the South African Ministry of Education. It would also establish closer links between academia and industry leading to more industry relevant skills training and curriculum development. An important result of these changes would be improved standards in further education colleges. An improved educational infrastructure would provide more opportunities for scaling up examples of good practice. Action plan The participants proposed a government driven collaboration around curriculum design/appropriateness, such as a curriculum regulator, encompassing collaboration with relevant industry bodies around the workplace relevance of education. Part of this approach would be to link academic boards with industry. The group also suggested that a council of representatives from industry bodies should be set up to provide input into macro-education policy. A need was highlighted for the creation of new fast response mechanisms to maintain the overall relevance of educational content 6

7 based on this collaboration, as well as improving the efficiency of current mechanisms. It was also felt that students require more co-ordinated guidance around educational and career pathways, with greater emphasis on giving students more choice. A clear outcome must be the encouragement of entrepreneurship development and business building as a function of collaboration with an emphasis on the greater use of business simulation to facilitate the development of management and business skills. Additional efforts must be made to scale up good examples of collaboration within sectors like oil, gas and wine, built on the development of sustainable funding models. Finally it was felt that maintaining educational standards necessitate making the entry level requirements for further education colleges much higher. Group 2 Group 2 chose to elaborate an action plan for the following vision statement: Well managed educational institutions with optimum use of resources Summary of idea A shared vision and consensus on a more professional approach to the management of educational institution resources, with increased accountability. Outcomes This vision would develop education professionals trained for optimal management of their responsibilities. A vision built on feedback, checks and balances from all stakeholders in ensuring proper management of learning; a shared vision developed in partnership with parents and other stakeholders. Action plan The group would ensure that principals and managers have accredited management training which enables them to properly and efficiently allocate resources. Management approach is also key with the management of educational institutions becoming more hands on so that principals and managers better understand issues at ground level. To build on these measures, the group highlighted the need for systematic incorporation of reflective practice and critical thinking theory into the management techniques of educational institutions. This practice would also extend to teachers, enabling them to be more self-critical and adjust their educational delivery accordingly. Increased accountability would come through establishing better links between home and school. The development of shared decision making partnerships with parental committees and other stakeholders would provide further checks and balances. For this to work, however, parental 7

8 committees should be trained in key issues of competence. Measures for ensuring accountability in the distribution of funds in educational institutions should be developed, through an external committee auditing the distribution of funds. A further efficiency measure suggested was encouraging colleges to specialise in a reduced number of courses thus improving the quality of delivery and design. These measures must be combined with the appointment of more members of industry at skill council level while making industry more aware of the need for their role in this process. As part of this approach, the South African Skills Education Training Authorities (SETAS) would establish criteria for access to funding around clear demonstration of engagement with industry or clear demonstration of the relevance of course content to the needs of industry (this would be dependent on more industry representation on SETA skills councils). 8

9 Appendix Venue Cape Royal Hotel 47 Main Road Green Point Cape Town South Africa Facilitators Jim Playfoot, Creative Director, White Loop Will Leonard, Project Director, White Loop Participants Dieter Heiser Director, WBHO Antoinette Du Toit Training Manager, WBHO Chris Brink Author Joachim Bodenstein Lecturer Plumbing & Roads, College of Cape Town JJ Mbana CEO, East Cape Midlands FET Mark Lawrence Head of Construction, Northlink College Gerard Martin Winetech John Havenga Big Five representative to the DoE Izak de Vries Senior Publisher: FET Colleges, Pearson Charlotte Imani Publishing Manager: FET Colleges, Pearson Janis Wylie Academic Programme Manager, Fundamentals Training Centre 9