Enterprise training in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

Against the backdrop of training provision in the apartheid era and a description of the promulgation of a new skills development regime post-1994, this article considers the status and distribution of enterprise training in contemporary South Africa. It is found that reasonable progress is being made with training in large and medium-sized firms and that a significant turnaround is occurring at the intermediate level through the new learnership schemes. Less impressive is the participation of small firms in the levy-grant system. Moreover, training still tends to be largely provided in the form of in-house, short course and employer-specific instruction, which is unlikely to upgrade the skills base of the workforce in terms of the acquisition of whole qualifications in line with the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). In addition, the beneficiaries of key forms of training remain white and male, particularly at the high skills end. This suggests that while the implementation of a new skills development regime is showing clear dividends, there remains much to be done to overcome previous inequalities and impact on key aspects of a predominantly low skills regime.