It was an honour to host visitors from the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) at Richmond upon Thames College (RuTC) in May.
The South African Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, led the delegation who travelled to London to attend the Education World Forum (EWF). EWF is the world’s largest annual gathering of education leaders and skills ministers This year the theme of the conference was: “From stability to growth; building stronger, better, bolder, education together.”
During their trip, they also had the opportunity to visit RuTC college facilities and speak with our senior management team, seeking to gain first-hand insights into how further education colleges operate in the UK.
The visit to the college provided valuable lessons and insights on how close collaboration between vocational training colleges and industries, can ensure that young people are equipped with skills that are in demand and needed by the economy.
Dr Gondwe commented on the visit:
“In South Africa, TVETs and community colleges are often the second or third choice for students, and I think this is due to the fact that universities obtain a lion's share of our budget. Many students still wish to enrol at universities instead of technical colleges and our community colleges. Therefore, I think we need to ensure that TVETs provide future skills that will contribute to economic growth and job creation, such as robotics, AI, and coding.”