Johannesburg — WORK to improve the status and effectiveness of SA's 50 state-funded further education and training (FET) colleges will mark a new high today when Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande kicks off a two-day conference aimed at repositioning the sector that is often referred to as the "Cinderella" of SA's education system.

In April, Dr Nzimande started a complete overhaul of the FET system. The government has for years struggled to revitalise the system, despite spending R1,5bn on the colleges between 2006 and 2008, upgrading everything from teaching skills to workshops and laboratories.

SA is one of the few countries in the world with twice as many university students as FET students. Many believe this is bad for the economy.

The Steel & Engineering Industries Federation of SA's skills development head, Janet Lopes , said the work of the East Rand conference is "extremely ambitious" as the entire legislative and policy framework for the colleges has to be reworked.

A roundtable meeting in April discussed the challenges facing the sector, ranging from low pass rates to the recent exodus of 36% of academic staff, due partly to confusion over salaries and conditions of service. It set five task teams to work on re- examining the entire sector, looking at the legal framework governing it, the way in which exams were conducted, the programme offerings, and funding and operational support for the colleges.

Industry is interested to hear Mr Nzimande's plan for the sector "and what we can do to enhance it", the chairman of Business Unity SA's education and training committee, Vusi Mabena, said.

The colleges are important as they are one of four ways in which artisans can be trained. The others are learnerships, traditional apprenticeships, and what is known as "recognition of prior learning" based on workplace experience.

Mr Mabena said SA produces about 8000 artisans a year but needs three times that amount.

More than 400 individuals and entities involved in the FET college sector have been invited to the conference, department spokeswoman Ranjeni Munusamy said.

Mr Mabena said industry is interested to find out whether the phased-out "N-courses", traditionally used to impart theoretical training to artisans, will be reintroduced on condition trainees are indentured and so able to go straight from college to workplace experience.

The biggest challenge for the department will be implementing whatever plans come out of the roundtable discussion and the conference, said Mr Mabena. "I'm optimistic, but I would like to see the summit begin to map out what we are going to do with FET.... We need clear directives, even if they are up for debate."