Something is going on along Bayview’s Spine Road that needs more attention than it is receiving. In an area of Cape Town that has long yearned for something like this, a new campus is rising behind construction walls, with steel, concrete, and scaffolding extending upward. False Bay TVET College’s new Mitchells Plain campus is anticipated to open before the end of 2026 and be able to accommodate up to 3,000 students. From the outside, observing the rate of construction, it seems like this is more than just a building being built; it’s a kind of statement.
For more than 20 years, False Bay TVET College has operated in the Western Cape, quietly establishing a reputation that many institutions three times its size would be jealous of. The college was established in 2002 and is currently one of the best-performing TVET institutions in South Africa. It operates five campuses: Fish Hoek, Muizenberg, Westlake, Khayelitsha, and the soon-to-be-finished Mitchells Plain facility. Its ISO 9001:2015 certification is significant for a vocational college in a developing country. Consistent procedures, dedicated personnel, and genuine accountability are necessary for that type of accreditation. It’s possible that a lot of people are unaware of this about the location.
For an institution of this kind, the variety of programs offered is truly astounding. The scope reads more like a small university catalog than a technical college: engineering trades, hospitality, information technology, maritime studies, 2D animation, tourism, education, and social safety. Chef Ryan from Sushiya recently gave a live sushi-making demonstration at the Muizenberg campus, and judging by the responses of the lecturers and students, it was a huge success. Pulling professionals from real-world workplaces into the classroom is a form of industry engagement that is more difficult to create than it appears, and it reveals something authentic about the college’s approach to hands-on learning.
The story of the Mitchells Plain campus is especially significant. The majority of students who have been enrolled at that campus since 2005 have lived close to it on foot. That was intentional. Souchan Gasant-Jackson, campus manager, has discussed the college’s goal to remove distance as a barrier, both logistically and as a commitment to community. It seems that the administrators of this campus have given careful consideration to the identities and backgrounds of their students. Before a single student graduates, the economic benefits of building the campus are already returning to the community, as more than 30% of local suppliers participated in the current construction phase.
In addition to bricklaying, carpentry, and plumbing, the programs planned for the new Mitchells Plain facility cover topics that feel very much of the present: cloud administration, cyber security, and artificial intelligence. This combination is intriguing. It implies that the college is attempting to prepare students for both the trades that Cape Town will always require and the digital economy, which is changing the nature of work. The goal is there, but it’s still unclear if that balance will hold in reality.
Following an R149.2 billion budget speech in Parliament, the Minister of Higher Education hosted a post-Budget Vote Gala Dinner in Cape Town, which Acting Principal Charlene Matthews recently attended. The representation of False Bay TVET College at that table, along with government representatives and university principals, indicates a change in the national perception of vocational education. TVET colleges were viewed as second-choice options for students who didn’t qualify elsewhere, and they functioned in the shadow of universities for a long time. Slowly but surely, that perception is shifting.
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that False Bay TVET College appears to grasp something that many other institutions overlook: the importance of proximity, the fact that building community trust takes years, and the fact that an auditorium and multipurpose hall included in a campus design are signals rather than extras. indicates that this location is meant to be a part of the neighborhood rather than just a part of it. When it opens, the Bayview campus will serve Khayelitsha, Strandfontein, and Mitchells Plain. That opening must happen as soon as possible for those communities.
