Information and communications technology tools will serve among the key pillars to deliver learning and classroom experiences in the homes of potential students.
This was the word from higher education deputy minister Buti Manamela, noting his department’s target to absorb more young people within the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and community college post-school education space.
Manamela addressed the Huawei ICT Academy Instructor Summit 2024 on Friday, which saw the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET’s) leadership and Huawei SA executives in attendance.
The annual summit served as a training ground for TVET college instructors, bringing them together to share their experiences, knowledge and successes, as they navigate a rapidly-developing industry.
According to Manamela, the DHET has targeted 2.6 million students to enter TVET colleges by 2030. However, the majority of students attend brick-and-mortar classrooms.
“The current number of students at TVET colleges is anything shy of 500 000. The target for 2024 is at 600 000. However, at this rate, we will not achieve the 2.6 million students at TVET colleges by 2030.
“We need alternative, cheaper, impactful forms of delivering TVET-related programmes. The same applies to our community colleges. Education delivered using ICT tools and solutions will make a dent for the nearly four million young people who are not in an education institution and getting the necessary skills.
“Part of the areas we need to look at is how our partnerships with ICT companies can help in opening up potential for learning platforms – we already have the content and a huge base of instructors that can instruct via ICT platforms. We need to collaborate to ensure we deliver education to the gadget.”
Reflecting on the DHET’s long-standing relationship with Huawei SA, the deputy minister said programmes like the Huawei ICT Academy, which offers ways to share ICT skills in the country, remain essential.
“We really appreciate the partnership that we continue to enjoy with Huawei SA. It is a partnership that is based on practical programmes that impact the economy of our country and also our skills development agenda,” he stated.
“In my earlier discussion that involved the CEO, the department and Huawei’s leaders, we identified a need to determine ways to have much tighter collaboration with our TVET colleges, particularly with the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) hubs in our colleges.
“We see this [ICT academies] as a huge potential for us to expand and have an impact as it relates to skills, SMMEs, employment and ICT exchange. One of the important hallmarks of this programme is identifying new technologies and how those are going to impact us within the next five to 10 years, as well as the importance for our institutions to adjust within those spaces.”
In partnership with the DHET, the Huawei ICT Academy programme co-operates with universities and colleges to train, develop and certify some of the best ICT talent across the country.
Over the past few years, the Huawei ICT Academy programme has partnered with 74 higher education institutions, working to bring the institutions into its ICT training ecosystem. Including universities and private colleges across the country, Huawei SA has a total of 76 ICT academies.
By July, more than 300 instructors had participated in the instructor training programme, were trained and prepared for student class opening. In 2024, over 2 400 students have participated in online and offline Huawei training programmes.
In the collaboration model under the Huawei ICT Academy initiative, Huawei provides course authorisation, instructor enablement and learning resources. Universities prepare for the teaching plans, lab environments and certified instructors. The resources are then channelled to students, allowing them to gain ICT competency, practical experience, career certifications and job opportunities.
Delivering the summit’s welcoming address, Huawei SA CEO Will Meng highlighted the significant role ICT instructors play, as the company continues to invest in initiatives that disseminate ICT skills.
“The ICT sector has been among the fastest-growing in the country, and it will continue to be so for years to come.”
Meng added the influence of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) is now pervasive, and will require responsive skills development and research for SA to reap the full benefits.
During the summit, Huawei also hosted a roundtable discussion with the instructors, to unpack how changing technology impacts the education sector.
The conversation revealed the higher education sector has already been reshaped by 4IR technologies, and that these changes require the curriculum to align with the demands of rapidly-changing technologies like AI, robotics and the internet of things.
Over 2 600 Huawei ICT Academies have been initiated around the world, producing over 11 000 Huawei ICT certified instructors and training over 200 000 students.
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