Vocational education and training in southern Africa: a comparative study

Abstract

While Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems are increasingly seen as an important element of national socio-economic strategies internationally, the field of VET has been badly neglected in southern Africa, especially given the donor fascination with basic education since the World Conference on Education for All in 1990. Internationally VET in particular has been identified as an important tool in addressing youth unemployment and poverty, on the one hand, and promoting international competitiveness on the other. The growing policy interest internationally in these systems has spawned a wide range of policy reform processes, often driven by international development agencies.

This volume seeks to engage critically with the growing donor orthodoxies and assumptions about the future shape and impact of VET systems. It examines the complexities through a unique comparative study of seven countries in southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. The Transformation of Vocational Education and Training in Southern Africa examines the role that VET can play in supporting social and economic development goals, and examines the major VET policy reforms and the creation of new institutions are either underway or planned in all seven countries under study in this book.