The Characterisation of a TVET College Lecturer Within the World of Work

Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions are entrusted with the mandate to develop skills among the youth. However, lecturers’ professional competence and the knowledge they should possess are still a concern in this regard. This chapter reports on a study aimed at ascertaining how TVET college lecturers characterise themselves within the college sector in response to the skills shortages in the sector. There seems to be a challenge in how vocational competence is of benefit to the lecturers within the TVET college space, particularly in enhancing lecturers’ capability to respond to the skills scourge. The study was underpinned by Miller’s model of teacher identity: ten TVET College lecturers were interviewed and revealed that their main aim was to ensure that the practical mark for the students is assessed and meets requirements as per the syllabus. The lecturers see themselves as professionals who do not rely on academic teachers’ qualifications, but who should merely possess a technical skill which is enough to have students achieve their practical aspect of the module. Their narrations based on their expertise in teaching practical activities reveal no concern for what theory meant to the module they teach. This chapter advocates that the identity of a TVET college lecturer should be the one where one possesses both the academic qualification and vocational skills so that the transfer of knowledge is both professionalised and relevant to the world of work. This would enable TVET college lecturers to expand their teaching in both theory and practice to meet the needs of students who enrol in the TVET college sector.