The college boast with four campuses, evenly situated in and around the Vaal Triangle. The passion-driven Dr. Mothapo joined Sedibeng TVET College as a lecturer in Electrical Engineering at the then Vereeniging College in 1999. Dr. Mothapo has been a firm believer in the programme offering of the TVET Colleges, as a result, he aspired to make a contribution by furthering his studies.
“My reason for studying further was to uncover what can be done to validate and turn TVET Colleges into institutions of first choice,” said Dr. Mothapo.
He alluded that being a lecturer at such a progressive institution had inspired him to want to know more about how he can contribute as an individual to making a difference in the lives of the previously disadvantaged young people, which are the majority of TVET sector students. He then decided to register for his Honours degree in Education Management in 2007 through University of South Africa(Unisa) and subsequently for a Master`s Degree specializing in Educational management. What is of utmost importance is that in his quest to do better, he also simultaneously climbed the ladder in terms of positions in the 20 years at Sedibeng TVET College. He became the senior lecturer, Head of Department (Engineering Studies), Campus Manager, Deputy Principal Corporate Services and finally he was appointed in 2018 as the Principal of Sedibeng TVET College while working on his Ph.D. In all his academic endeavours, the topics he researched have always been around governance and strategic management of TVET Colleges. Dr. Mothapo has ensured that being entrusted with a mammoth task of leading the college, his experience is not only limited to studying in order to understand and acquire the know-how, but he knew that he had to benchmark.
“For me to be able to contribute meaningfully towards achieving the strategic objectives of the college, I travelled to the United States of America (USA) to experience how community colleges are run, in terms of administration, their course offering and relationship with local universities”, said Dr. Mothapo.
Sedibeng TVET College is fortunate to have such a visionary leader who not only aspires to improve the programme offering of the college but an individual who is an academic, who is a goal oriented God-fearing man as well. Dr. Mothapo is surely passionate about education and transformation, and it is evident that in his list of achievements and travels that nothing will stop him from achieving his goal.
Not many leaders value education as much as he does, and education not only in terms of academia but also practically networking and researching in colleges abroad. He reiterated that for the college to remain competitive, there needs to be constant research and upskilling so that what the college offers is relevant, and responsive to the economic needs of our country and our region.