Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, with the support of government, the Department of Higher Education and Training and the provincial education departments, had to make every effort to "mobilise employers" to provide work placement opportunities for FET students, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the launch of a $6,7-million partnership between the department, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Council on Education (ACE) to strengthen 12 local FET colleges, Nzimande said that it was strange that many employers in the public and private sector complain about skills shortages, but are reluctant to take on trainees in the form of learnerships and apprenticeships.

Employers' contributions should not be limited to helping the department to develop programmes and understand the needs of the labour market, but also to provide practical training opportunities for FET students.

"I myself am fully committed to engaging with other government departments, with major employers and employer organisations and trade unions to ensure that workplace placements for FET college students are expanded, because without them, the training provided by the colleges really cannot prepare students fully for the labour market," he said.

The three-year, $6,7-million programme, which would be funded by the USAID and implemented by the ACE, was launched at the Waterberg FET College, in Limpopo province, on Tuesday.

It is expected to strengthen academic programmes, skills development training and student support services at 12 FET colleges in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, as well as in the Northern Cape.

Nzimande highlighted that one of the biggest strengths of the partnership is the fact that it incorporated a labour market research component, which would give colleges access to labour market data, allowing it to match its training with the demand of the marketplace.

More than $320 000 of the overall funds would go towards this component.

The funds would be distributed among the 12 FET colleges and would be used to cover skills development support services, academic support and project administration.

He urged the selected colleges to cooperate with the donor partners and to ensure that the initiative is a success so that it could be extended and emulated in other parts of the country.

The South African government had already, in the past three years, invested R1,9-billion on recapitalising all local FET colleges in terms of infrastructure and equipment and the development of new curriculums.

"The recapitalisation of colleges has repositioned FET colleges into modern and responsive institutions for skills development and advanced learning. Teaching and learning at most colleges now takes place in well-equipped workshops, high-tech laboratories, and information and communication technology centres," said Nzimande.