“After serving 23 years in the sector, I will be retiring at the end of September 2023.
Prior to joining the college , I spent 14 years in education as a teacher and two years in the private sector.
I joined the college at a time when the winds of change were blowing in the sector. It was 2000, a mere six years into our democracy. The country and our youth needed a different response to our skills development challenges.
I was very excited to join the TVET sector at that time in its history because we were setting a completely new scene for education in the technical /vocational space.
The pull back into education was a very strong one for me . Very early in my teaching career, I saw the power of education in the life of an individual student, a family, and a community. For me, education has never been limited to book knowledge. Sometimes in the daily grind, one can so easily forget how the work that we do plays itself out in the life of a student. Education is not like other sectors. Here we are dealing with the hopes, dreams and aspirations of young lives, young people who are trying hard to sometimes just to take the next step, amidst deep uncertainty, abject poverty and often loneliness. Through education we need to carve a new landscape for our country, where human capability becomes an agent for social and economic change, through knowledge and skills development.
The TVET sector has been the most exciting and challenging sector in which to work. The answer to many of the challenges facing SA’s youth lie within this sector –development of relevant skills, unemployment and employability, job creation through entrepreneurship training. It is a dynamic sector that has been served and is served by many committed individuals.
I have had the most incredible experiences, engagements, moments, and memories over the past 23 years. I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunity that I have enjoyed serving the TVET sector.
I thank the DHET, my colleagues, fellow principals, our students for the gracious support I have been given over the many years.
I wish the sector well in the years to come.”
Karin Hendricks
While the DHET is in the process of appointing a new college principal, Ms. Christianna Nel has graciously accepted the responsibility of steering the college through the transition period.
