Speaker
1: |
No
experience required as training will be provided on the following jobs:
waitress, waitresses, bartenders, chefs, cashiers, housekeepers, and child
care. |
Speaker
3: |
It
all starts with an advert in a newspaper, promising students jobs. Puseletso is one of those who had high hopes that when
she finish her training, she'll be placed in a job immediately. She stays
with her mother. No one in the family works. They survive by selling fruit
and cool drinks. It took them two months to save enough money to send Puseletso to Loritz Training
College. Her dream? A future indicator in industry. |
Puseletso: |
[foreign
language] |
Lebohang: |
[foreign
language] |
Puseletso: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
3: |
We
found Loritz Training College in the centre of
Johannesburg. This is where many students like Puseletso
to end up. Unskilled and unemployed and desperate. Loritz
Training College promises to place you in a job, once you finish your
training. This has proved to be an extremely marketing tool. Private colleges
like Loritz fall under fair education and training,
or FET. Fair education colleges are not required to register with the
Department of Education. They provide schools and training to those who can't
attend technikons and universities. So, many come
here. And every Monday, new students can register for a four week training
class. |
|
You
can choose to train as a waiter, bartender, chef or housekeeper. Or just
learn basic competent skills. To get a certificate, you need to 280 rand to register.
150 for the uniform and equipment. Pass your exam, then you should be on your
way to join the world of work. But for many, this is not the case. |
Speaker
6: |
After
training, you will get a job but we don't get a job. |
Speaker
7: |
[foreign
language] |
Gift: |
Everybody
here, I'm promising you, is going to get employed. If you actually, you got a
dedication in yourself. It's your heart and your [inaudible] that makes you
to be employed. But if you always negative, you'll also not get employment.
That's also at work. You need to be positive as well. |
Speaker
9: |
I
don't think that's ... it's what I want to hear. What I want to hear is why
do you have to advise ... advertising the newspaper that job assistants. |
Gift: |
Yeah,
job assistants- |
Speaker
9: |
[crosstalk]
you know that you are going to pay doing that. |
Gift: |
Clearly,
from your [inaudible] job assistance, it doesn't mean that the employment is
there. Job assistant means that you have to be assisted in getting a job.
With the present unemployment rate, if we leave you there in the street, we
are doing more harm to our community than the harm that we have done to bring
you here. |
Speaker
9: |
Can
I tell you something? I've been looking for a job with this certificate. |
Gift: |
Yeah,
that's ... [inaudible] certification. That's right. |
Speaker
9: |
You
know what they say? This is not a qualified certificate. That's why they're
taping me. I've been with AB Job Creations. |
Gift: |
The
certificate cannot qualify. It's you who qualifies. If the certificate
qualifies, then ... I mean, the qualification doesn't come from the
certificate. It comes from you. You cannot say a certificate is qualifying,
but you have got to be qualified yourself. If you ask your person, "Can
you set me a table?" You will show that you can actually do the table
setting. Then you are qualified, isn't it? Not the certificate. |
Speaker
3: |
An
amendment to the FET Act was signed by the president in 1998. It states that
with regard to the registration of private fair education institutions, all
are exempt from registration with the Department of Education until a date
set by the minister of education. This means an unregistered private provider
is not committing an offence by providing FET programmes until the proposed
date of first January, 2004. |
Khetsi: |
The
numbers that you have present now is that there are over 900 private
providers across the country that are providing short programmes to much more
longer programmes. So that's a much more larger [inaudible] that we're
dealing with. And we had to ensure that we set processes and procedures in
motion that are not going to be challenged through the courts of law. |
Gift: |
There
was no [inaudible] that was put for what in terms of actually of private
colleges. The way that they should be approved with the education department
or education, until a standard document was put forward and all private
colleges were compelled to do that. So, the process is so slow that when we
send our application, it's taking us so long. |
Khetsi: |
There
are a number of private providers that are taking advantage of the fact that
we still busy with the process of registration, which are exploiting the
enthusiasm of our people to continue to learn, to acquire the necessary
skills, to create for themselves opportunities to enter the world of work. |
Speaker
3: |
Loritz Training College argues that if an [inaudible] is not
registered, its qualifications are proved by international and local borders.
There prospector shows that they do not only offer short courses, [inaudible]
FET programme. They also advanced diplomas for courses like computer
programming, information technology, even travel and tourism. According to
law, any private college offering these advanced courses should be registered
with the department. If not, they are operating illegally. Loritz says they are still applying for accreditation. |
Gift: |
Our
certificates, most of them, they come from London. They will be written City
& Guilds of London. Those are [inaudible] our diplomas and certificates.
So they are not actually given by us. |
Speaker
3: |
Pitman
City & Guilds monitors [inaudible] the quality provided by these
colleges. They are not a learning centre. They set up standards for any
private provider registered with them. This means they will then monitor and
[inaudible] the quality of any course they have approved. Students can write
the Pitman's exam to get an internationally recognised qualification. |
Dumisani: |
Loritz is approved to offer the information technology
programme. They are approved for City & Guilds. They are approved to
offer the IT exams. And they haven't put through a number of students to sit
for exams. In fact, if you go through their files, between 1996 and now,
there are less than 15 students who sit for a City & Guilds exam. What
they do in practise becomes irresponsibility by all the players, not just by
one individual player. By all the players to ensure that the game is playing
within the rules. |
Speaker
3: |
Colleges
like Loritz manage to lure students from all over
South Africa. They come from as far [inaudible] as Lesotho, Swaziland and
Cape Town. Nombeko Makana is from Cape Town. She
too saw the Loritz advertisement in newspaper with
a promise of a job placement. This for her was the first step to building a
secure future. Loritz told her all she needed was
280 rand for training. 250 rand for accommodation. After that, she'll be
working. |
Nombeko: |
I'm
interested in waitressing, so I phoned them. Then they said they have a
training of one month which is four weeks. You just pay the 280. They come in
to subsidise you and after that four weeks, they place you in a job.
Immediately after the course, they place you in a job. So I'm here because
I'm getting a job. They said they have accommodation, and the accommodation
is 250. You just bring your blanket and your clothes. Everything is there. |
Speaker
3: |
The
accommodation that Loritz promised Nombeko, the place that had everything, turned out to be
this flat. She informed us that after arrival, she was taken to Loritz's offices. There, she gave them her rent and the
200 rent deposit for training. Little did she know that she would end up
sharing this one bedroom flat with 15 other students. |
Nombeko: |
It's
very expensive to stay here, if we were [inaudible] four or five, it was
going to [inaudible] going to say now it's [inaudible] 250 a month. But 16,
if we count that many, one of us will be paying at least 80 rand. One
student. No hotel accepts Gift's students, because we are not trained. We
know nothing. We know nothing. There's nothing like silver service. We didn't
know anything about silver service. We didn't train for it. We have nothing.
It's like what [inaudible] certificate from someone? |
Speaker
13: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
3: |
This
letter from Loritz states that there were fully
furnished kitchen. Despite repeated requests, they wouldn't let us film it. |
Nombeko: |
I'm
30 years. I'm looking for a job. I'm not looking for a school. I have an
illegitimate son at home, which I am supposed to be feeding on my own. So,
for me to go to technical and stay for another three years or four years is
quite a lot. By the time I'm out of this school, they say, "No you are
35. We can't take you." |
Speaker
3: |
After
failing to get a job, many students from Loritz go
back home. Others like Nombeko Makana turn to
private employment agencies such as AB Job Creation. For three weeks, Nombeko has been walking this road desperate to find a
job. Many have put their trust in agencies, but AB Job Creation says it is
different. It claims it has an association with the Department of Labour. Nombeko is so determined to get a job, she's willing to
pay extra money to be trained all over again by AB Job Creation. |
Lynette: |
This
was an employment place, all right? All we did was find people jobs, okay?
Then I came across the problem where I find a person a job. Now this, she's
seen on her own. I find someone a job. I send them down. They get there, it's
either they can't do this or can't do that. You understand me? Then I had a
couple of students come to me and ask me if I could train them, you
understand? Now, if I train you, the only thing I can train you is in theory
and just a little practical. |
Nombeko: |
I
left home. I said I'm getting a job at 30, training. And I really need a job
because I have a kid to feed. So what I came here for is to get a job. |
Lynette: |
If
you look at an ad in the paper, once the ad says jobs, jobs, jobs, you don't
phone that ad. Once an ad says no experience required, you don't phone that
ad, because that ad's got no job. I will never hire [Yumbo]
to be my receptionist if you've never worked as a receptionist before. Hell
no. |
Speaker
15: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
3: |
So
[inaudible] you were told to pay 220 in which account? |
Speaker
15: |
At
AB Job Creations [foreign language] under Department of Labour. |
Lynette: |
If
I make the certificate, you cannot receive your certificate before I take it
down to the skills development [inaudible], to the Department of Labour. You
understand me? Whereby, she's gotta search and make
sure that even when I mark your paper, I can't give you your paper. I'm
supposed to send it down to them to double check the paper first to see that
I didn't mark right is wrong, and wrong is right. |
Speaker
3: |
AB
Job Creation offers its classes in a single office. Training and practicals are done in an empty kitchen. For these,
students pay 220 rand, but AB Job Creation denies this. |
Lynette: |
I
don't make them pay 220. This is what I do. I find them space to get hands on
training in different types of hotels. Example, [inaudible] Hotel. Now, when
you talk to a hotel, and you tell them, listen ... Another example is
[inaudible] Grand Hotel. When you talk to those guys and you say,
"Listen, I got guys that want to do training in waitering", then
they give a price. |
|
Other
words, you have to know- |
Speaker
3: |
Many
students say they're to pay their fees into an NBS account belonging to AB
Job Creation. AB Job Creation also claims that the Department of Labour
approves, regulates and monitors their tuition and their [inaudible] papers.
The Department of Labour denies this. They also state that they have never
contracted AB Job Creation to do any training for them. They're registered as
a private employment agency only, as such, they cannot charge a registration
fee of more than one rand per person looking for a job. |
Lynette: |
They
don't think I'm providing them a fair service, then, that's another thing. As
far as I'm concerned, I think I am. I definitely think I am. And so far, I
think I'm the best in Johannesburg. |
Speaker
3: |
There
are many private colleges that promise to provide students with skills in a
short space of time. This is [Sheffield] House in Johannesburg. In this
building alone, three colleges are operating. One of them on the sixth floor
is Merryland Business College. They offer diplomas
and certificates courses on anything from computing to secretarial skills to
accounting. MBC College functions in this single room. Reception, lectures
and practicals all ake
place here. [inaudible] offers a choice of 28 diplomas and certificates but
there are only eight computers. Attended a course for two days, pay 150 rand,
and you can walk away with an Internet certificate. Busisiwe
Tshuma is a Microsoft programme lecturer. She took
several one month diplomas at [Thompsonville College] in Soweto. She says
she's qualified. |
Busisiwe: |
Yeah,
I do believe I have the quality, the qualification that I can teach someone.
It's not really about having the paper that makes you capable of teaching
someone. It's about how you deal with people and whether you know the job.
And most of the student, they write under Pitman. |
Speaker
3: |
She
claims that all their qualifications are regulated by Pitman. Pitman City
& Guilds say they have never heard of Merryland
Business College. |
Busisiwe: |
It's
not really about the size of the building or how fancy the building looks
like. It's about what you get at the end of the day. What you learn at the
end of the day, that really counts. |
Khetsi: |
Government
has an obligation to create the conditions to ensure that our people are not
exploited. What I'm also trying to communicate simultaneously is an appeal to
our people, to say when they want to further their education and training,
they've got the rights to information that tells them about the programme.
They've got the right to inspect the premises of that institution that claims
is going to give them those qualifications. And if somebody refuses to do
that, then you don't register. So we can't allow ourselves to be ripped off
on the basis that government has not registered. |
Speaker
3: |
This
is Witwatersrand College in [inaudible] Street, Johannesburg. It offers
diplomas for many courses, from information technology to tourism. From accounting
to mining engineering. Diplomas start at 6,000 rand per course. This college
has eight branches in South Africa, including those in Cape Town,
[inaudible], Pretoria, and Johannesburg. These are all former students of
Wits College. Special assignment got them together to tell their stories.
They have diplomas in fields such as information technology, personal
computing and engineering. Now, they want their money back. They said they
were misled by the colleges named Wits. They thought it was affiliated to
Wits University. The college has since changed its name to Witwatersrand
College. It, too, is not registered. |
Precious: |
We
saw an ad go [inaudible] and most of us here [foreign language]. So what
happened is your course [inaudible] with Wits College, get work and you'd
upgrade to Wits University as time goes on. And it'd be easy for you to go
into Wits University if we [inaudible] Wits College, because it's part of
them. You know what I'm saying? That's how some of us got into this whole
thing. |
Speaker
18: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
3: |
The
director of Witwatersrand College did not want to interview. However, when we
tracked him down to a restaurant, he did speak to us briefly. He was adamant
that he was not doing anything wrong, and that he was not required to
register. He promised to allow us to film him inside his colleges. Till
today, he has not fulfilled his promises, despite repeated requests. |
Frank: |
We
all applied in, I think, 1999. That's when we all applied. |
Speaker
3: |
And
you got given permission to function? |
Frank: |
They
give us reference. Numbers meaning we are good operators. We have everyone.
Some don't have. We are right. Some don't have that preference. |
Speaker
3: |
And
your teachers? |
Frank: |
The
teachers are qualified. |
Deriek: |
If
an institution is using our nickname, we object to that. And secondly, we are
concerned for the students that go to those institutions, because the
qualifications that they're getting, if they've not been registered by the Department
of Education, are not worth the piece of paper that they are printed on. So,
from our particular perspective, they are problematic in that they mislead
the public, and they've potentially affect our good name. |
Frank: |
These
questions should be asked- |
Speaker
21: |
[crosstalk] |
Frank: |
Should
be asked to the Department of Education. The ones who allow us to operate. |
Khetsi: |
If
you go into an institution that claims to be teaching engineering, and there
are no workshops, I mean that institution has to be closed. |
Yukile: |
Wits
College of Engineering. Certificate. This is to certify that Yukile Ndlovu [inaudible], student number JCEPCE 005,
successfully completed her diploma course in PC Engineering. Signed by B.F. Turi, 14-12-2001. And my statement. With B's and A's. |
Lekaba: |
[foreign
language] |
Yukile: |
Come
on, we're not doing this for ourselves. We are doing it for [foreign
language] she has to go to school. |
Precious: |
[foreign
language], you understand? [foreign language], you understand? And only to
find [foreign language]. It's going to kill her soul. |
Vathiswa: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
18: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
3: |
You
won't tell your parents? |
Speaker
18: |
No.
[foreign language] |
Precious: |
Because
it's obvious, if we had money, we wouldn't go to one year diploma college,
you understand? [inaudible] but we would go to a technikon.
[foreign language]. And for me to go to school again, chances are slim, you
know? I'm already wasting, what? Six months now. I'm still doing [inaudible].
I'm walking around going to interviews, [inaudible] a place with a fake
diploma. |
Khetsi: |
We
[inaudible] those students who are going through [inaudible]. All what I am
saying is that as government, we're going to do our best to make sure that we
clean up the system. And we are in the process of cleaning up the system. I'm
equally saying that South Africans, as citizens themselves, have to take the
responsibility of being vigilant when it comes to this matter. |
Speaker
3: |
So,
we decided to be vigilant. We went back to Witwatersrand College to try one
last time to gain access. We hoped that this time they would respond to
students allegations. Once again, we're met by a closed door and we had to
leave. |
|
I'm
from [inaudible] from SABC, and we're actually coming here to ask for an
interview and access to this college [inaudible]. |
Speaker
25: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
3: |
Sorry? |
|
[inaudible]
tells us we got to finding answers to students allegations about teaching standards
and infrastructure was a letter from the college director. It claims that 50%
of his staff have relevant degrees. The rest have one year diplomas. He also
states that they too, have the necessary infrastructure. |
Speaker
26: |
I'm
confused because if I leave this college, [foreign language] |
Speaker
27: |
[foreign
language] |
Khetsi: |
The
issues that we spoke about today are not acceptable. And I think we as
government, we need to ensure that the matter receives urgent attention. |
Speaker
3: |
But
it's not urgent enough. The proposed state for registration of these colleges
is the first of January, 2004. For now, the game continues. Until the
Department of Education regulates this industry, it will remain an industry
with no rules. Where anybody can do what they want. In the meantime, those
desperate for an education will continue being exploited. |