04/09/2026
The College’s Strategic Imperative Towards 2030: Positioning Skills, Innovation and Institutional Readi .
📍 Magaliesberg Valley Lodge & Spa
📅 4–6 September 2026 | Day 1
Today, 4 September 2026, the College Council, Senior Management and Student Representative Council (SRC) came together at Magaliesberg Valley Lodge & Spa for the first day of the three-day Strategic Planning and Annual Performance Planning Session for 2025–2030.
The session opened with a joint opening and welcome by Dr Gwen van der Berg, Chairperson of the College Council, and Dr George Mothapo, College Principal and Accounting Officer, who set the tone for the three-day strategic engagement and welcomed Council, Senior Management and the SRC to the important planning process.
Their joint opening underscored the significance of bringing together the College’s governance, management and student leadership structures around a shared institutional agenda as the College looks towards 2030.
The first day set the tone for an important period of strategic reflection — one that goes beyond the development of a strategic document and asks fundamental questions about where the College is today, where it needs to be by 2030, what could prevent it from reaching its objectives, and, importantly, what must be done differently to achieve meaningful and sustainable results.
The opening discussions placed strong emphasis on leadership responsibility, institutional sustainability, performance, risk management and the continued relevance of the College within a rapidly changing education, economic and skills-development environment.
Mr Jacob Olifant, Deputy Principal: Corporate Services, subsequently presented the programme for the three-day session and introduced the Strategic Plan 2025–2030, emphasising the importance of translating strategic priorities into clear actions, measurable performance, appropriate resource allocation and tangible institutional outcomes.
A significant part of today’s strategic conversation focused on the planned implementation of Occupational Programmes from 2027.
The discussions recognised that introducing Occupational Programmes requires much more than adding new programmes to the College’s offering. It requires institutional readiness across infrastructure, equipment, lecturer capacity, staff capacity, curriculum implementation, quality assurance, workplace learning, industry partnerships, student support, administration and resource allocation.
Particular attention was given to human capacity across the institution. While lecturer readiness and capability remain critical to the delivery of quality occupational programmes, successful implementation also depends on the preparedness, skills, coordination and support of employees across academic, administrative, student support, finance, human resources, ICT, facilities, marketing and other institutional functions.
During today’s strategic discussions, particular attention was given to the importance of human capacity and institutional readiness as the College prepares for the implementation of Occupational Programmes from 2027. The discussion highlighted that a strong, capable and responsive workforce across the institution will be fundamental to effectively supporting students, delivering quality programmes, maintaining institutional standards and responding to the changing demands of the skills-development environment.
The discussion further emphasised that the implementation of Occupational Programmes must remain closely connected to the world of work. Participants highlighted the importance of strengthening industry partnerships, expanding meaningful workplace learning opportunities and ensuring that students develop the practical occupational competence required to participate meaningfully in the economy. The focus was therefore not only on students completing qualifications, but on creating stronger pathways towards employment, entrepreneurship and further learning.
Another important dimension of today’s discussions was risk management.
Strategic planning asks:
“Where do we want to go?”
Risk management asks:
“What could prevent us from getting there, and what must we do now to manage those risks?”
Over the next two days, the planning process will continue to identify potential risks, assess their likelihood and impact, develop practical mitigation measures, assign accountability and consider how interventions will be monitored for effectiveness.
This approach is critical to strengthening institutional resilience and ensuring that risks are directly connected to strategic objectives, mitigation measures, responsible officials, resources, performance indicators and ongoing monitoring.
The strategic conversation also acknowledged the rapidly changing nature of the economy and workplace. Technology, automation, artificial intelligence, digitalisation and emerging occupational models are transforming the skills required by employers and industries. This places a responsibility on the College to ensure that its academic and occupational offerings remain relevant, responsive and aligned with labour-market needs. It also reinforces the importance of strengthening partnerships with industry and creating meaningful pathways for students into employment, entrepreneurship and further learning.
As the College looks towards 2030, today’s discussions are centred on strengthening:
🎓 Quality and relevant education and training
🛠️ Occupational competence and workplace learning
🏭 Industry partnerships and labour-market responsiveness
👥 Lecturer, staff and institutional human capacity
🏫 Infrastructure and institutional capacity
👩🏽🎓 Student success and employability
💡 Innovation and digital transformation
📊 Performance and accountability
🛡️ Risk management and institutional resilience
🤝 Partnerships and stakeholder engagement
⚙️ Operational excellence and sustainable institutional development
The Annual Performance Plan (APP) will play a critical role in translating these strategic priorities into annual commitments, measurable targets, responsibilities and performance outcomes.
Ultimately, the success of the Strategic Plan will not be determined by the quality of the document alone. It will be determined by the quality of the institution that is built through its implementation.
The ambition is clear: to build a College that is responsive to students, relevant to industry, connected to communities and prepared for the future.
Today’s session also demonstrated the importance of bringing governance, management and the student voice into the same strategic conversation.
With the College Council providing governance oversight and strategic direction, Senior Management engaging on the practical implementation of institutional priorities, and the SRC bringing the student perspective into the conversation, the strategic discussions are grounded not only in institutional priorities, but also in the realities and experiences of those the College ultimately serves.
As the three-day session continues, the focus will move from reflection towards deeper strategic alignment, prioritisation, risk mitigation, performance planning and the practical actions required to move the College closer to its 2030 ambition.
Day 1 has set the strategic conversation in motion. The work towards 2030 continues.
