Leadership Development Symposium paves the way for more management development

Wayne Adams, Chief Operations Officer: merSETA, addressing the delegates during the symposium.

The Leadership Development Symposium (LDS) hosted by Northlink College and Blackburn College (UK) with the support of the merSETA held in September 2012, was seen as a step in the right direction for the FET Sector as it is in the process of migrating from the Provincial Education Department to the National Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).

The two days saw over 10 FET Colleges from all over South Africa along with other educational institutions including universities and private institutions exchange thoughts on how to develop their leaders to become more effective and equipped for their colleges. The delegates also listened to various speakers that gave them some vital tools to develop themselves and help with the leadership development of their fellow colleagues and peers. These speakers included Dr. Arnold Smit (University of Stellenbosch Business School), Paul Kellett (Blackburn College) and Wayne Adams (merSETA).

Says Leon Beech, Northlink College CEO: “This symposium is truly needed in this time of uncertainty that the FET sector is facing at the moment and in developing and strengthening our management structures we can only make this migration process a lot more smoother and grow the FET College Sector more to become the preferred provider for Further Education and Training.”

This is the second developmental platform that Blackburn College has partnered with Northlink College in 2012 and is another great example of what a partnership really means and how colleges in South Africa can benefit from such partnerships.

“Sometimes, partnerships are not even worth the piece of paper it is written on, but Northlink College and Blackburn College has ensured that this partnership is not only an exchange of good practice, but an exchange that impacts the education sectors of both our countries,” adds Mr. Beech.