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The 2019 general election is over and the people have spoken. There is a hunger for change for the benefit of all South Africans.
The damage done during the Jacob Zuma era has been compared with the debilitating effect as that of a country torn apart by war.
The republic of 2019 will face many challenges and the country will only be able to restore itself if new and meaningful partnerships are formed and existing partnerships are maintained.
The state will have to rely on many private-public partnerships on the road back to Rainbow Nation.
The hard fact is that the state will need the help of private enterprise more than at any point in its troubled post-1994 history.
There will have to be many hours of hard work to remove the distrust between the citizenry and the state.
The mudslinging, name calling, open racism and intolerance that we have all witnessed over the last 10 years will have to stop.
One of the most urgent private-public partnerships that the new regime would have to nurture lies in the field of education.
The state simply does not have the capacity to address the education crisis on its own. In addition, the state must realise that private education providers are not there to exploit, as some maintain.
Private education providers, especially those in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training and the Further Education and Training streams are essential to close critical skills gaps.
Private education providers have designed models that work and that form meaningful bridges between high schools and universities.
An economy that has a skills landscape as desolate as South Africa’s will need all the help from the private sector to grow as many skills as possible in the shortest possible time .
The majority of private providers want to make a meaningful difference regarding skills development.
Since Naledi Pandor took over the ministry of education, private providers feel a refreshing breeze of trust that did not exist earlier.
Private providers hope that this trust can be strengthened in the interest of the youth that desperately need marketable skills.
Many private providers have high throughput rates and high pass mark requirements.
It has been proven over and over that students who studied at private providers are just as well equipped for the workplace as those who studied elsewhere.
In addition, private providers have a high throughput rate (more than 50% compared to 20% at other public institutions and 10% at Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges).
This means that more students who completed their studies at private providers are ready for the workplace than is the case with students who studied elsewhere.
Most private providers train students to take national exams that lead to national certificates or diplomas as awarded by Skills Education Training Authorities or by the Quality Council For Trades and Occupations.
The fact that private providers have set a high pass mark standards for the qualifications that they train, means that industry can trust the capability of students coming through the private Further Education and Training stream.
However, industry still thinks that students coming out of the private Further Education and Training stream are inferior compared to those coming from universities.
That is a gross misconception because the required pass mark at university is 50% compared with the required pass mark of 60% for students who write the national exams as set by external professional bodies, and who received their qualifications in accounting, business administration, business management, or small business financial management from the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority.
Competitive skills are the key to economic revival. Public-private partnerships based on mutual trust and respect are essential.
• Peter van Nieuwenhuizen is chief financial officer of the Growth Institute, a private college focusing on management education, skills development and enterprise development
