28 Feb 2023

Recruitment and placing of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) trainers in brigades and technical colleges is guided by the human resource management policies provided from time to time by the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM).

These include General Orders (1996) and Public Service Act No. 30 of 2008 as well as public service directives issued from time to time.

Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe said the recruitment process entailed release of an advertisement indicating where vacancies existed and placement was then done to fill them just as it was the case with any other cadre in the public service.

“The ministry hires qualified lecturers who are required to be in possession of a technical teaching certificate, however, where such are not available, applicants with basic qualifications are employed with a provision to be taken for further training,” he said.

Dr Letsholathebe said out of 916 TVET trainers in all brigades and technical colleges, 106 were without a post graduate certificate or a diploma in technical and vocational education.

“Out of the 106, 16 are already admitted for further training at the Francistown College of Technical and Vocational Education, with the remainder to follow at a later time,” he explained.

He added that the 11 TVET trainers were employed on contract terms with nine of them at brigades and certificate offering technical college and two at the diploma offering technical colleges.

Again, he said there were only three TVET expatriate trainers and the Department of Skills Development had no centralised job seekers database of qualified TVET trainers.

“Instead, prospective employees are sourced from the Botswana Labour Market Observatory database at the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC),” he added.

MP for Ghanzi North, Mr John Thiite had enquired on the recruitment and placing of TVET trainers in brigades and technical colleges.

Mr Thiite had also asked the minister to state the number of such trainers without a post graduate diploma in technical and vocational education in all brigades and technical colleges.

He further wanted to know the number of TVET expatriate trainers and if the Department of Skills Development had centralised job seekers database of qualified TVET trainers. ENDS