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Johannesburg - The US government agency USAID has funded three Further Education and Training (FET) colleges with $6.7m (about R49m) for skills development, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday.
The initiative, by the US government agency, was aimed at "capacity building, consultation and education" within the FET college sector, he told the launch of US-SA Partnership for Skills Development in Limpopo, according to a copy of his speech.
The three-year-long initiative would be implemented in 12 FET colleges in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.
"One of the biggest strengths of this programme is that it incorporates a labour market research component which will give colleges access to labour market data. In this way, training at colleges can be matched to demands of the marketplace.,
"A budget in excess of R2.3m has been assigned to this important aspect of the programme."
A further R12.4m was dedicated to an HIV/Aids programme.
In this year's State of the Nation address, President Jacob Zuma announced that the FET sector, with its 50 colleges and 236 campuses nationally, would be the primary site for skills development and training.
Nzimande said the government had invested R600m in bursaries for financially needy FET college students.
"We are aware that it is still not enough and government will endeavour to expand it further."
The aim was to develop the sector into an effective part of the government's skills development programme.
In line with this vision, the government had also decided to recapitalise FET colleges with an investment of R1.9bn for the three years ending in March this year. The money was largely spent on infrastructure, equipment, development of a new curriculum and human resources.
"Teaching and learning at most colleges now takes place in well-equipped workshops, high-tech laboratories, and ICT centres... more still needs to be done to support the lecturing staff and to ensure throughput of the students."
Nzimande said he would talk to government departments, major employers, employer organisations and trade unions to ensure more workplace placements for FET college students.
- Sapa