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This chapter re-examines the growth potential of Africa's small-scale economy at the end of the 1990s in light of African economic growth, structural adjustments affecting the small-scale sector and education and training institutions (both formal and informal), and trends in donor policy aimed at poverty eradication and pro-poor growth. National and development cooperation policies have both direct and indirect effects on small and micro-enterprises (SMEs) in the countries of the African continent. The productivity of the African small-scale economy is closely linked with the productivity of the economy as a whole and new trends in the donor community during the 1990s have the potential to increase external support for this sector. Both national and donor policies for the promotion of SMEs are accompanied by concerns about the appropriate role of education and training in SMEs. The authors explore existing policies and programs for small-scale pro-capitalist development and for developing the skills needed to sustain the sector.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 67.245. Selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 67.246 to TD/TNC 67.249. Show less

The Third International Conference on TVET (technical and vocational education and training), held by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Shanghai in 2012, resolved that growing research on TVET had to be an integral part of the overall strategy to strengthen the sector. Historically in South Africa, much of the targeted TVET research has been conducted by agencies outside of the university, but the last ten years have seen an increase in the number of TVET studies being undertaken by postgraduate students at universities, largely due to national policies that have encouraged higher education to take a greater interest in TVET research and development.

Given the policy focus on TVET and the increased support for research in the field, this article reflects on the growth of postgraduate research on TVET in South Africa in the past ten years. Government targets for postgraduate outputs have prioritised doctoral studies, and, while TVET-related doctoral graduates are relatively few in number, there are signs of an emerging community of researchers and also of an expanding, though localised and highly contextual, knowledge base on TVET. The authors identify a number of aspects observed across the research outputs which could aid further reflection on the kind of contribution that postgraduate TVET research is making. Finally, attention is drawn to the nascent cadre of TVET intellectuals who can - indeed, must - provide much-needed supervisory capacity in this field.

Published abstract. Show less

This introductory chapter highlights the nature of some of the major vocational education and training (VET) policy reforms that are underway in southern Africa, their origins and the likelihood of their success to show how VET is an important policy nexus between economic and educational policy, between the state and the market, and between concerns with poverty and growth. It also looks at both internal trends within Africa and international influences. The following key themes are introduced: VET systems have evolved in a piecemeal and unsystematic way; the developments of national training authorities and national qualifications frameworks have been complex and uneven in nature; the core function of VET remains promoting employment opportunities and this has resulted in a growing focus on the need for radical curricular overhaul and better relationships with the world of work; the role of the informal economy is not well-addressed in most countries; the relationship between the state and the market is seen in trends towards the greater marketisation of public providers and a growing acceptance of private providers as a key part of VET systems; and there are concerns about equity and access in VET provision.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/IRD 88.272; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 85.254 to TD/TNC 85.262. Show less

This article reviews the effects of globalisation on South Africa a decade after the transition to a post-apartheid system. It brings together some of the recent literature of the performance of the economy and concomitant changes in education. It shows the pervasive force of globalisation on South African education and training and explores in particular how this has affected the political imperative to establish a non-racial socio-political order. It argues that the twin processes of globalisation and socio-political transformation have often contradicted stated goals of equity and redress.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Although labour migration is an increasingly important topic for both policy and research internationally, relatively little attention has been paid to the historical contexts of certain labour mobilities and movements particularly those from Commonwealth countries to the United Kingdom (UK) or former colonies. Instead, labour migration movements have increasingly been debated within the framework of globalisation and focused on how governments of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are wrestling with tensions between their desire to use skilled migration to be on the winning side in the 'global war for talent' and attempts to outflank rising xenophobia.

This chapter is based on a preliminary study of Zimbabwean highly skilled migrants in the UK which explores the employability challenges that they face in the British labour market. Drawing from interviews with 20 participants, from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds (e.g. engineering, [information technology] IT, education), [the authors] highlight the consequent obstacles they face, despite their high levels of human and linguistic capital in the UK context; competences that are historically produced and narrativised in the backdrop of colonialism. [The authors] explore how their experiences and struggles are produced in a notion of broken post-colonial relationships and responsibilities. In this case [the authors] consider the consequent direct and indirect discrimination they encounter which manifests itself in, for example, discriminatory immigration rules and procedures, employer bias, and non-recognition of qualifications and skills.

Authors' abstract. Show less

This chapter introduces the main themes of the book. It justifies a concern with how the current policy and practice orthodoxy is not working despite the efforts of educators and learners. It is driven by a realization that the futures for which vocational education and training (VET) is intended to prepare people are ever more precarious at the individual, societal and planetary levels. And it is motivated by a sense that while better futures are possible, VET is poorly positioned to respond to the new skilling needs these will require. It introduces four cases from two Anglophone countries, Uganda and South Africa.

The book provides an immanent critique of the current state of VET and what underpins it being this way, and a vision of what a future, better VET might look like based on emerging visions of a better world and the first stirrings of new VET practices that are aligned with this vision. Thus, the book is intended to be part of an opening up of a new phase of VET research.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 151.257. Show less

Demand-led skills development requires linkages and coordination between firms and education and training organisations, which are major challenges considering that each represents a 'self-interested' entity. The need for a 'collaborative project' involving government, firms, universities and colleges, and other bodies is thus increasingly recognised. However, the crucial role of intermediaries has been largely overlooked. The article addresses this gap by investigating the main roles of public and private intermediaries across three case studies: sugarcane growing and milling, automotive component manufacturing, and the Square Kilometre Array sectoral systems of innovation. The research highlights the need for a move towards systemic thinking, to bridge across public and private objectives. It shows that private intermediaries play a larger role than is recognised in policy; that public-private intermediaries play crucial roles in coordination; and the potential for public intermediaries to contribute more effectively to systemic functioning.

Published abstract. Show less

The orthodox account of vocational education and training [VET] for development is firmly based in Neoliberal assumptions about the primacy of the economic. Yet, there are a range of alternative accounts of development, receiving increasing attention, that stress the importance of a wider vision of humanity and human development. At the same time, there are longstanding, though more marginal, traditions of seeing vocational education as having a moral purpose, linked to learning to becoming more human. This paper seeks to connect these two traditions to offer a new way of thinking about VET for development.

Abstract from Nottingham ePrints portal. Show less

This case study report is a product of the Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP), a largescale, long-term research and development project that aims to support the Department of Higher Education and Training's (DHET) mandate to establish a credible institutional mechanism for skills planning. Specifically, it reflects research conducted to address the theme of 'Reconfiguring the postschooling sector'. The aim is to investigate the ways in which alignment between different types of public and private education and training systems and labour markets can be improved. It investigates how organisational capabilities, structures and curriculum mechanisms facilitate or constrain interaction with labour market organisations, in a differentiated post-school sector.

There are two sub-projects in this theme of work. Project 1 is designed to focus on the capabilities of education and training organisations to interact with labour market stakeholders, and is led by Glenda Kruss of the [Human Sciences Research Council] HSRC. Project 2 focuses on curriculum responsiveness and is led by Volker Wedekind of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The boundaries for the empirical investigation are drawn by four sectoral systems of innovation (SSI): (1) forestry growers (focused in KwaZulu-Natal); (2) sugarcane growers and millers (focused in KwaZulu-Natal); (3) automotive components manufacturers (focused in Port Elizabeth); and (4) Square Kilometre Array (SKA) (national). The research attempts to identify appropriate change mechanisms, and hence, provide systemic knowledge to direct funding and interventions where DHET can have leverage in future, and education and training organisations can maintain their core roles in new ways.

This case study analysis forms part of Project 1, which investigates the distinct knowledge and technology base, the main actors, institutions and networks of each SSI, and the ways in which education and training organisations display dynamic interactive capabilities. It should be read in conjunction with a set of inter-related LMIP reports: (1) Report 4: Responding to shifting demand for skills: how do we get firms and post-school education and training organisations to work together by Glenda Kruss, Il-haam Petersen, Simon McGrath and Michael Gastrow (2014); (2) Report 6: Understanding interactive capabilities for skills development in sectoral systems of innovation: a case study of astronomy and the Square Kilometre Array telescope by Michael Gastrow (2015); and (3) Report 8: Understanding interactive capabilities for skills development in sectoral systems of innovation: a case study of the sugarcane growing and milling sector in KwaZulu-Natal by Il-haam Petersen (2015).

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

The Working Group for International Cooperation in Skills Development, launched in 1996, is an informal group of donor agencies and international organisations involved in providing assistance in vocational and technical skills development. This paper documents the discussions of the sixth meeting of the Working Group which was held in March 2000 in Washington DC and hosted jointly by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and sponsored by UNESCO-UNEVOC. The theme of this meeting was 'Poverty, growth and skills development: a focus on Latin America'. This paper reflects the discussions around this theme and is presented in four sections: the first section contains accounts of the history, evolution and current issues surrounding skills development in Latin America presented by a series of agency and non-agency researchers; section two contains presentations from the three host agencies of their current policies and programs in Latin America; section three contains a synthesis piece bringing together the issues from the papers that were presented and the discussions that ensued; and the final section contains the appendices. The contents are: Introduction; Poverty, growth and training development in Latin America / Pedro Daniel Weinberg; Employer-controlled training in Brazil / Claudio de Moura Castro; Secondary technical and vocational education in Chile / William Experton; Vocational education and training in Colombia / Jaime Ramirez-Guerrero; Training unemployed youth in Latin America; Emerging World Bank concerns in post-basic education / John Middleton; USAID’s approach to workforce development and experiences in Latin America / Emily Vargas-Baron and Robert McClusky; Skills development at the Inter-American Development Bank / Claudio de Moura Castro; Learning in Latin America, learning from Latin America: the evolution of skills development / Simon McGrath. The appendices are: Japan International Cooperation Agency and skills development; Business development services: recent work by the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development; About the Working Group; List of participants. Show less