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This report suggests that sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will depend upon major improvements in basic education, and technical and managerial skills in every sector of the economy, as well as labour productivity in tradeable goods and service sectors. However, the funding and provision of vocational education and training (VET) is as yet uncertain and this situation is aggravated by the lack of detailed, empirical research on VET in Africa. This report examines the provision of VET in Tanzania and Zimbabwe since the mid-1980s. The Tanzanian research was funded by the Education Division of the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Zimbabwe study was supported by DfID’s Economic and Social Committee for Research (ESCOR). The research aimed to investigate the full range of factors, including adjustment and stabilisation policies, that influenced VET provision over this period of time. The study examined how governments in Tanzania and Zimbabwe had addressed insufficient VET provision and facilitated the skill formation required for sustainable economic growth. It identified the main outcomes and effects of government policy reforms and other initiatives, and the underlying reasons, and specified the policy requirements to enhance future outcomes. The research project examined all types of post-secondary VET provision including technical colleges, polytechnics, pre-employment occupation training for secondary school leavers, and work-related training for the employed. Each country study involved a review of formal VET provision in the public and private sectors, and surveys of VET policies and practices in the two key industries of manufacturing and tourism. Chapter 1 provides introductory information and Chapters 2 to 6 summarise the key findings of the surveys, presenting the main results for each country in turn. Chapter 7 discusses possible VET reforms aimed at major weaknesses in VET provision. Some of these are common to both countries and others are country specific. Show less