By Akani Nkuna
The Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (FASSET) has, in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), launched a digital hub at the South West Gauteng College in Dobsonville, Soweto (SWGC), in order to introduce digital careers that are adaptive to the fast-growing technological industry.
According to FASSET CEO Ayanda Mafuleka, the hub is poised to bridge the digital divide between township areas and affluent suburban areas by ushering in digital transformation in the SWGC campus, where students will learn digital courses enabling them to contribute to the 4th Industrial Revolution economy.
“The world is not waiting for us to catch up. The 4th Industrial Revolution, the Just Energy Transition, they are all here already reshaping industries, demanding new skills and rewriting the future of work,” she said on Tuesday during the launch at the SWGC campus.
“As FASSET, this is a bold step for us because we believe that through this initiative, we will empower students and lecturers with the tools not just to service in the future, but to lead.”
The digital transformation initiative has been described as empowering not only the students, but the entire community of Soweto at large with digital literacy while also responding to the pressing needs affecting the community, especially unemployment.
Eight hundred learners are going to enrol for digital courses over the next two years in cybersecurity, coding, data analytics, cloud practioners, software development, software testing, digital marketing and artificial intelligence, amongst other skills that are critical to the digital economy.
With a financial investment totalling R28,000, 500 to aid in the steadfast implementation of the digital hub initiative, the college has also identified 60 lecturers to be upskilled with digital skills, enabling them to impart that knowledge to learners who will be learning in person and those participating in distance learning. The courses span a minimum of three months.
Mafuleka reaffirmed the entity’s endeavours to roll out the initiative across the country, especially in rural colleges. She said that Soweto was chosen as the first destination owing to its vibrant economy and strategic location as a major contributor to the township economy.
“Soweto is an ecosystem on its own, embodying the intense cultural, political and economic hub key points. Soweto has a rich history which can be preserved by ensuring that the community thrives. This hub is going to be an impactful initiative that will see Soweto having access to a digital world,” Mafuleka told Inside Education following the launch at the campus.
DHET Deputy Director General (DDG) for TVET Colleges, Zamokuhle Zungu, speaking to Inside Education, reiterated government’s efforts to incentivise community colleges as an attractive and prioritised destination for students. He said that the launch was aiding government plans to increase TVET college enrolments to 2.5 million students by 2030.
Zungu appealed to students not to be concerned about the physical location of TVET colleges, often in township areas — a contrast of environment when compared to universities — saying location does nothing to alter the quality of education.
“If you go to any operation, plant or manufacturer, the people that are supervisors across the globe, it is people coming from universities in those positions. But our education system is the opposite, [TVET colleges] are pumping more supervisors,” he added.
He highlighted the action to diversify teaching and learning beyond the traditional classroom to have a far reaching and greater impact through the implementation of virtual classrooms enabled by digital platforms.
Zungu said that for government to reach its threshold of 2.5 enrolments by 2030, the infusion of technology would play a critical role.
SWGC Principal Malose Monyamane told Inside Education that they have implemented measures to enable the upskilling of lecturers at the campus without destabilising or delaying the start of the digital hub.
“We have e-libraries, meaning that students will be able to access e-books – any material that they want read. Lecturers do post their lessons on our portal, making it easy for students to access those from wherever,” Monyamane added.
INSIDE EDUCATION
