Industrial visits enhance learning at Speciss College Bulawayo Campus
FOR effective learning the best complement to the theory taught in the classroom is practical work where students see, experience and put to actual use the principles found on the pages of their text books.
It is this realisation that drives the Speciss College Bulawayo Campus Technical School which enjoys a sound working relationship with employers in industry.
Mrs Tracey Chigwada, the Director of Studies for Speciss Bulawayo Campus Technical and Business Schools, says that these partnerships enable the College to facilitate industrial visits where students are exposed to actual working environments.
“All of the Technical School’s workshops are custom-built for practical learning purposes.
“The College has also gone further to arrange regular visits for students so that they can see firsthand how this technology is put to use in an industrial setting,” she says.
Recently, Speciss Bulawayo Technical School organised an industrial visit to the National Railways of Zimbabwe and Lobel’s Biscuits, where two classes engaged in an eye-opening tour of the facilities.
Mr Obert Lazalo, a Speciss tutor who lectures Electrical and Electronics Engineering classes, says that the practicals he conducts with students in the College’s workshops had roused the students’ curiosity.
“Our regular practicals created an interest in our students so when we visited NRZ and Lobel’s the students were very excited to see bigger machinery and tools as well as getting a feel of the working world,” he says.
Mr Lazalo says that the visit rounded off what the students had been learning and enabled them to interact with actual professionals.
“The questions the students asked were very relevant and it was also very interesting to see how they talked with qualified professionals about how they were enjoying their work,” says Mr Lazalo.
At Lobel’s Biscuits, students had an opportunity to see biscuit production chain, especially looking at the part played by electrical equipment and maintained by electrical staff, within the production line.
Chipo Muchesa, City and Guilds Electrical and Electronics Engineering Diploma student who was part of the group that visited Lobel’s Bakery, says that the visit had provided the class with a great opportunity to learn more and gain a greater appreciation of how the technology they learn about is used in industry.
“Our visit to Lobel’s enabled us to see and touch the machinery we learn about and appreciate the importance of technology to Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
“Interacting with professionals was also exciting as they told us the details of how exactly they got to where they are,” she says.
At NRZ, students visited the Electrical Training Centre where they were shown electrical measuring instruments, feedback trainer electronic kits, electric motors, electrical installations, transformers, drilling machines and many more items of electrical equipment.
Blessing Msimanga, a City & Guilds Electrical Installation Certificate student who was part of the group that visited the NRZ, says that the visit had enabled him to see how a wide range of tools are used in an industrial setting.
“The class got to see how different tools, machinery and equipment are used practically by professionals,” he says.
Mrs Chigwada expressed her gratitude to the NRZ and Lobel’s Biscuits for accommodating the students and making an important contribution to their education.
“Speciss is grateful to the NRZ and Lobels Biscuits for availing their staff to interact with and answer our students questions.
“These two industrial visits will go a long way towards their development as competent technical professionals,” the Speciss Bulawayo Technical and Business School Director of Studies says.
The Technical School at Speciss College Bulawayo Campus Students provides a diverse set of Technical courses spanning from Motor Vehicle Systems maintenance, Auto-Electricals, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Telecommunications as well as Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
These courses are available under the internationally renowned City & Guilds board and as specially designed Speciss qualifications which cater for people in industry, school leavers and even entrepreneurs.
Preparations for Trade Testing, Short courses and DIY courses are also on offer at affordable fees during weekends and evenings.