Skills mismatches and shortages within the TVET sector: peril or promise?

Abstract

Despite the strong policy commitment within the TVET system to: (1) expand access for enrolment and (2) strengthen the sectors capacity to provide vocational skills that prepare youth for productive employment, the sector continues to face significant challenges. Combining negative perceptions by both prospective employers and society, TVET graduates are often perceived as lacking the relevant skills and attributes necessary to succeed in the labour market. Such concerns are even more salient in moments of economic strain as in the current global health and economic crisis, and within the current technological expansion described as the much acclaimed Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).