West Coast TVET College: Perseverance wins the crown for students

West Coast TVET College students hired in Learnerships and the Student Laboratory Assistant Programme offered by PathCare Academy

When enthusiasm and eagerness meet opportunity, a life is changed for the better. Six Level 4 Primary Health students from West Coast TVET College are in the process of having their lives changed for the better. They are currently being moulded in a programme offered by the PathCare Academy. Chantal Kordom, Ambesa Zenzile, former 2017 Student Representative Council President Asanda Mbolekwa, Megan Meyer, Nokubonga Mbanjwa and Aviwe Tywaku are all students from the Vredendal Campus.

They are busy with a Phlebotomy Technician Learnership and the Student Laboratory Assistant Programme, respectively.

These students endured strenuous personal circumstances. However, they have pulled through to be where they are today. When they were still at the College, there was concern amongst students regarding the credentials of the Primary Health course. The concern was that it was ‘not registered and not recognised’ by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) or the Department of Higher Education and Training. A number of students dropped out in light of these assertions, but these students formed part of the group that stayed on and persevered.

PathCare Academy offers the programme for the training of Phlebotomy Technicians in the form of the Further Education and Training Certificate: Phlebotomy Techniques, NQF Level 4. It is a two-year course offered with the support of the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA). The qualification is approved and authorised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the HPCSA and is run as a learnership under the auspices of the HWSETA.

The Learnership consists of a structured learning component as well as workplace experience. The training is outcomes-based according to the unit standards that make up the qualification. Trainees are taught anatomy and physiology, medical ethics, laboratory safety, including HIV infection prevention, and how to safely collect blood and non-blood samples for medical pathology and blood transfusion purposes. The theory component of the programme is offered in Cape Town, but the practical component is offered at numerous locations across South Africa and Namibia. The programme commences annually in February.

Selection includes pre-interview testing and panel interviews. Successful candidates are paid an allowance and are employed on a two-year contract for the duration of their studies at the Academy.

Chantal is a 25 year old young woman from the town of Springbok in the Northern Cape Province. She started the Primary Health course at West Coast TVET College in 2013 completing Levels 2 to 4. After completion, she had to look for a job to make ends meet due to family circumstances.

She could not find a job for the entire year and consequently only started working in 2017. “Life was very difficult for me knowing that I had studied Primary Health and yet I could not find a job”, she said. She later found a job at Namaqualand Pharmacy and also worked as a Merchandiser for Imperial. Chantal said her mother told her she had wasted her time by going to college. However, she says the Lord was on her side as she received a call to start at PathCare in February 2018.

Ambesa Zenzile is a 32-year-old student from Worcester. She started her Primary Health training in 2015. She matriculated in 2005 and could not study further as the situation at home made it impossible. “We were struggling at home financially. My mother is a single parent, so I had to sacrifice my ambitions as my brother had also had to pass Grade 12”, she explained. Ambesa had to look for a job to support her struggling mother. She worked for different companies like Golden Valley, Old Mutual Call Centre, a pharmacy and eventually for the National Health Laboratory Services. This is where she fell in love with the medical environment. She applied for the Primary Health course at the College and was accepted. “I told my lecturers that they must bear with me as I had not been in a classroom environment for a long time”, she said. “When I was told that the course was offered at the Vredendal campus, I was alarmed as I had not heard about such a place before in my entire life. We were taken by a bus and there were many of us. When we got there life was difficult for me, as it was not easy to relate to my younger peers. I could not even make friends with them,” Ambesa said. Her ‘can do’ attitude has helped Ambesa to be where she is today. She always aimed for a 90% pass mark. “I want to be a Pathologist one day. I do not care if it takes me 20 years to achieve that”, she added. Aviwe could not make the cut for the Phlebotomy Technician programme. Instead, she was placed on the Lab Assistant Programme.

The PathCare Academy Section Head for Foundation Programmes and Recruitment, Debi Moolman, noted that the Academy is impressed with the students. They are achieving the required 70% pass rate. “The students have recently completed a two-day job shadow in the PathCare depots. They have completed a workbook and received positive written feedback from the senior staff in the workplace. These are well presented and well-mannered students. They are punctual for classes and follow procedures regarding sickness and transport problems. PathCare is helping to build a skills base in areas of South Africa and Namibia where there are greater skills shortages”, she said.

Upon successful completion of the two-year course and a Board Examination set by the HPCSA, the students will be able to register with the HPCSA as qualified Phlebotomy Technicians. This will ensure that they are able to work in pathology laboratories, such as PathCare or blood transfusion services. Debi said that the PathCare Academy trainees had consistently achieved exceptionally high pass rates in the examinations. PathCare Academy trainees achieved the prized 100% pass rate in 2016, for the sixth consecutive year.

The students expressed their gratitude to the Vredendal Campus Manager, Absalome Chimuka, and lecturers Oliver Chivende and Zukile Mtongana for the assistance and support they have given them.

Sourced from TVET College Times – Volume 54 2018