The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande says that the Department of Higher Education is trying to raise awareness to encourage the youth to pursue jobs in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as these jobs are currently in high demand around the country.
The department sees the month of August as the TVET Month during which all the 50 public Technical Vocational Education and Training colleges in South Africa host various activities to show the programmes offered at each college.
These activities include direct engagements with the youth and with employers and industries with the aim of profiling TVET colleges and their programme offerings.
Nzimande says that the programme exposes young people to careers with artisanal, vocational and technical skills. He says the target audience is mainly learners in Grade 9 to 12, out of school, unemployed youth and industries.
He says that the department funds the Pre-Vocational Learning Programmes (PLP) which strengthen students who wish to pursue the STEM stream. Nzimande believes the next step towards funding STEM initiatives is to provide students and lecturers in the IT and engineering fields with laptops.
The department hosts open week awareness campaigns and an artisan week campaign to encourage learners, particularly those who are female to enroll for careers in STEM.
The artisan campaign which was launched in 2013 under the theme "It's cool to be a 21st Century Artisan" aims to ensure that the required artisans are able to implement the country's strategic infrastructure projects such as the building of roads, schools, universities, harbours, powers stations and economic infrastructure.
Students are also able to receive bursaries from the department which offers financial aid through NSFAS, NSF, SETAs, NRF and International Scholarships for degrees in STEM.
