South Eastern Regional College’s (SERC’s) expertise in mentoring and developing future leaders has been recognised with the announcement of an international skills development partnership with Port Elizabeth TVET College (PEC), South Africa.
The project, part of the British Council Going Global Partnerships programme, is focused on designing and delivering leadership development training for female entrepreneurs who are studying at the college in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The team at SERC is working in collaboration with four entrepreneur co-ordinators at PEC to explore how leadership development can be integrated into entrepreneurship support for female students and graduates.
The project will run until May 2027 and will comprise five phases, culminating in the production of a design package and a curriculum and resource package with recommendations for programme sustainability and for embedding it in the college.
Catherine Heatley, Senior Innovation and Training Consultant at SERC, is one of the tutors delivering the programme. She says their first step will be to understand the knowledge gaps existing at PEC and to gain a full picture of how entrepreneurship is currently delivered:
“We need to fully understand the context we are working in and then identify the competencies women entrepreneurs coming from Port Eizabeth College TVET need to develop to become effective leaders. This will all support and underpin the design of the leadership development framework, and the practical tools and guidance needed, which could then be disseminated more widely across the region.”
Pertunia Mothiba, from the British Council, adds, “This partnership demonstrates the value of international collaboration in strengthening entrepreneurship support within the TVET sector. By bringing together the expertise of SERC and Port Elizabeth TVET College, we are creating an opportunity to better understand the leadership and entrepreneurial skills that female students and graduates need to succeed. For the British Council, this is also about ensuring that international partnerships translate into practical, locally relevant outcomes. The learning and resources developed through this project have the potential to strengthen entrepreneurship support at the college and provide a model that can be adapted and shared more widely across the TVET sector.”
The British Council Going Global Partnerships Programme promotes and supports connections between universities, colleges, education policy makers, civil society organisations and industry partners in the UK and around the world. Through the programme, institutions can build relationships, collaborate, and share good practice with international partners.
