THE NQF4 LEARNERSHIP (PLANT PRODUCTION) AS PRESENTED BY THE ‘KOUE BOKKEVELD OPLEIDINGSSENTRUM’ (KBOS)(CERES DISTRICT) – A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT Joachim Ewert (Former) Professor of Sociology University of Stellenbosch AgriSETA conference: “Fruits of the 10 years” Emperors Palace, Boksburg 16 September 2010

A) BACKGROUND Officially the learnership is an NQF4 Learnership in ‘Plant Production’ Unofficially it is aimed at the delivery of Junior Farm Managers to what is a de facto fruit and vegetable growing region It was first launched by the Koue Bokkeveld Opleidingssentrum (KBOS) in 2004; this year’s class is the 4 th intake

B) THE LEARNERSHIP The learnership consists of 6 components: 1)Orientation 2)Course work (i.e. modules) 3)Practical assignments (relating to farm operations) 4)‘Field days’ (i.e. visits to farms in the region for the sake of practical illustration of the course work, e.g. soil science)

5) Excursion to Cape Town and Stellenbosch 6) The ‘big’ assignment (in which students must demonstrate that they can manage an orchard from beginning to end, i.e. from planning the layout of the orchard to production and marketing)

Although it does not involve the learners directly, one could argue that there is a 7 th component, viz.: 6) ‘Voluit Vrou’: a course designed for the learners’ partners which is intended to assist in ‘managing’ their relationship for the duration of the course and after, when the partner may move into a new managerial role

C) THE ASSESSMENT Main objective: to find out what was ‘good’ and what was ‘not so good’ about the learnership; to identify the ‘gaps’ and see where it could be improved Methodology: from 42 learners who had completed the course between , we drew a random sample of 20 ex-learners, with whom we conducted in-depth interviews We also interviewed their superiors (‘hoofde’); 9 of these had also been their superiors whilst doing the learnership

D) FINDINGS: LEARNERS Response overwhelmingly positive Especially the following aspects:  the orientation  the competence of the ‘presenters’ (i.e. lecturers)  the field days  the excursion to Khayelitsha, Cape Town harbour and various institutions in Stellenbosch  the spirit, solidarity and mutual support in the class

Also appreciated: the support of their superiors and their partners (value of ‘Voluit Vrou’ highligted) All expressed an interest in further studies; 14/20 in a course that would equip them with higher level managerial competence (e.g. NQF5) All except 1 said that the learnership helped them ‘to get ahead’, 11/20 held a post at junior production manager level after completing the course; 6 were full production managers

Shortcomings/gaps: More opportunities to get to know one another at the beginning of the course (i.e. during the orientation) Most superiors not sufficiently involved in the course; result: too little understanding/empathy More practical demonstration of the ‘theory’ learned in the class room, especially ‘pest control’

Better coordination of theoretical modules and their practical demonstration in the field Easier access to company data needed for the completion of assignments (in a minority of cases)

E) FINDINGS: SUPERIORS Response less straightforward On the one hand, most admitted that they are not well informed on the course, are not involved On the other, most did not hesitate to offer suggestions as to how the course could be improved The most frequent suggestion (3/20) was that the KBOS ‘inform us better, involve us more’ (question mark)

More than a third (7/20) think that the learnership is ‘only the beginning’; learners need a few more years of practical management experience Nevertheless, most managers are satisfied with the outcome of the learnership For instance, 9/20 managers think that ‘their’ junior manager is better when comparing them with others in a similar position (e.g. on neighbouring farms)

Likewise, 9/20 are certain that ‘their’ ex-learner will progress to a higher level of management; 3 others think that he/she ‘has the potential’ If we give those 3 the benefit of the doubt, that represents a ‘success rate’ of 60%; the same as at university level in SA

When reflecting on the reasons why some ex-learners are unlikely to progress, a lack of technical skills and know-how is NOT the most important one; more often it has to do with personality E.g.: ‘too little initiative’, ‘unable to take responsibility’, ‘does not follow through’, ‘cannot assert authority’ This raises an important question: is it possible to develop more effective selection procedures in order to prevent ‘unsuitable’ candidates entering the learnership in the first place?

F) BY AND LARGE THE KBOS MODEL IS A SUCCESS, BUT CAN IT BE TRANSFERRED? Four important things to keep in mind: 1) the learnership is an INTEGRATED WHOLE, i.e. together the different components create a synergy that is more than the sum of its parts; conversely, if one component is left out, the learnership is weakened disproportionally 2) the learnership has been built on many years of SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT in the Koue Bokkeveld region by the founders of the KBOS (Joy and Archie van Biljon); where the same foundation does not exist, extra efforts have to be made to build trust and confidence

3) a lot of learning takes place and much mutual support is generated by the fact that learners from different farms meet in a CENTRAL PLACE OF TRAINING and are exposed to different farming situations; this is much more conducive to learning than training providers going to individual farms and workers remaining isolated 4) the KBOS has not only a physical address, but is also administered by COMPETENT, FULL-TIME STAFF ; although always focused on further improvement, the KBOS does not go about its business in a haphazard way, but is run on a ‘system’ honed over many years

G) QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Is the NQF4 qualification a certain ‘ticket’ into management? Does it have the same value than similar qualifications obtained at other institutions? If not, why not? And where graduates do receive recognition, how easy or how difficult is their integration into management – both professionally and socially?

THANK YOU We would like to thank the AgriSETA for funding the research; it was a most interesting, enlightening and satisfying experience Joachim Ewert & Gary Eva (co-researcher)