Browsing by Author "Hove, Darlington"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A fit-gap analysis of the National Certificate (vocational) Information Technology and Computer Science curriculum against the needs of the South African ICT industry
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Hove, Darlington; Maasdorp, C. H.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) landscape is characterised by rapid innovation of digital technologies that are disrupting industries globally. These changes are so pervasive that it is now common cause that the industrial economy is transforming into a knowledge economy. This economic transformation led to the obsolescence of successive device models and production processes which render workers' previous skills, knowledge and competencies obsolete and out of date. Consequently, the gap between education and work requirements widens, posing enormous challenges for the education and training sector to produce graduates with relevant knowledge, skills and competencies. South Africa is no exception to these realities. Therefore, it is important to ask whether the country’s education and training institutions provide appropriate educational programs and qualifications, which are relevant to the needs of the knowledge economy. In 2007 the South African government introduced the National Certificate Vocational-Information Technology and Computer Science (NCV-IT) qualification at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to meet the skills demands of the ‘modern’ South African economy. The thesis considers this curriculum against the background of the ongoing technological advancements and digitization of the knowledge economy. The purpose of the thesis is to determine the relevance of the current national NCV-IT curriculum to the knowledge and skills needs of the South African ICT industry. This is achieved by describing the curriculum against the background of international models and then by interviewing representatives from industry to ask about the skills they need from graduates and what they consider gaps in the education of recent graduates from TVET colleges that they've employed. Using purposive sampling strategies, representatives from fifteen companies from the South African ICT industry were questioned using semi-structured interviews with open-ended answers. Their answers about their needs were compared with a description of the current national NCV-IT curriculum based on a document review. The findings of the comparative analysis reveals a fit-gap between the current national NCVIT curriculum and the South African ICT industry’s knowledge and skills needs from entry level IT employees. The conclusion offers recommendations regarding the urgent need to review and update the current national NCV-IT curriculum in order to align it to the South African ICT industry’s knowledge and skills needs.