Technical college responsiveness: learner destinations and labour market environments in South Africa

Abstract

In 2000, the Joint Education Trust commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to investigate the responsiveness of technical colleges within the emergent further education and training (FET) landscape in South Africa. The project, entitled 'Investigating "responsiveness": Employer satisfaction and graduate destination surveys in the South Africa technical college sector' made provision for three separate studies: a tracer study of technical college graduates; an employer satisfaction survey of employers of college graduates; and institutional profiles, including socio-economic and local labour markets. This monograph is the product of that project and presents the findings of all three studies. Its multiple perspective suggests the importance of viewing technical college responsiveness through a series of distinct, but related, lenses. Technical College Responsiveness goes beyond a report on the project itself, however, as it explores the broader context of technical and vocational education elsewhere in Africa and abroad. By locating the investigation of technical college responsiveness within a broader framework, the volume demonstrates, within a rapidly globalising economy, the interrelatedness of education and training systems and the constant need for their dialogue. Technical College Responsiveness will be of interest to all who are involved in the Further Education and Training sector, whether as policymakers, practitioners or students.