Building Capacity for WIL: SSACI Trains Tshwane North Placement Officers to Strengthen Employer Partnerships
Pretoria, 2 October 2025 — The Swiss–South African Cooperation Initiative (SSACI) has delivered a focused capacity-building programme for Tshwane North TVET College (TNC) Placement Officers to strengthen the planning and delivery of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) and deepen partnerships with employers across key sectors.
The one-day, hands-on workshop equipped the Placement Office with practical tools to move from ad-hoc placements to a structured, outcomes-driven WIL pipeline. Sessions covered employer engagement strategies, mapping of priority sectors, preparing students for workplace readiness, and compliance with DHET and SETA requirements.
“WIL changes lives when it’s organised, supported, and measured,” said Shanita Roopnarain, SSACI Executive Director. “Our goal is to help colleges build a repeatable system—from employer outreach to learner onboarding, mentoring, tracking, and certification—so that students transition smoothly into real jobs.”
What the training covered
- WIL Operating Model: Roles, workflows, SLAs, and a simple RACI to clarify responsibilities between campus, employer and student.
- Partner Development: Prospecting frameworks, value propositions for employers, and MoU essentials (scope, supervision, safety, IP, confidentiality, and data).
- Readiness & Matching: Screening and preparing students (CVs, interviews, workplace behaviour), with matching based on job profiles and competencies.
- Monitoring & Evidence: Placement registers, mentoring templates, logbooks, POE alignment, and SETA audit trails.
- Data & KPIs: A compact dashboard to track leads, signed partnerships, placements started, completions, and conversions to employment.
- Inclusion & Safeguarding: Guidance on disability inclusion, health & safety, and grievance/incident protocols.
Ms Annie Thalagale, Head of TNC’s Placement Unit welcomed the collaboration: “The tools we received today—especially the employer engagement scripts and monitoring templates—will help us standardise how we approach companies and support students on-site. It sets us up to scale placements with confidence.”
Early outcomes and next steps
- A shared employer pipeline was initiated with target companies in engineering, energy, ICT, and services.
- Templates for MoUs, mentoring, and evidence collection were adopted for college-wide use.
- A 90-day action plan was agreed, with monthly check-ins to monitor progress against placement and completion targets.
SSACI will provide light-touch coaching over the next quarter to help TNC embed the model, resolve bottlenecks, and report on results. The collaboration forms part of SSACI’s broader mission to improve youth employability by aligning TVET training with workplace demand.
Bridging the Gap Between Campus and Career!
The Tshwane North College Placement Officer Training, brought to you by SSACI, is equipping placement officers with the tools to drive real-world impact — for both students and lecturers.
📚 Empower students with meaningful workplace exposure
👩🏫 Facilitate lecturer placements that bring industry relevance into the classroom
🤝 Strengthen partnerships between TVET colleges and employers
🚀 Build a future-ready workforce, one placement at a time
This isn’t just training — it’s a catalyst for transformation. Let’s turn potential into performance.
About SSACI
The Swiss–South African Cooperation Initiative (SSACI) is a non-profit development agency that designs and implements skills-development projects to improve youth employability through quality training, WIL, and strong employer partnerships.
Media & Partnerships:
Email: info@ssaci.org.za | Phone: +27 (0)11 123 4567
Visit: www.ssaci.org.za
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