Vocational education and training - VET

Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) predisposes one to vulnerability as it entangles many challenges such as financial and low opportunities. Youths from low socioeconomic backgrounds often encounter steep adversities that may potentially halt their educational pursuits. Without the right and necessary empowerment coined as skill development within the high school system, these youths may remain vulnerable to poverty, socially reliant and dependent on government support and grants. Therefore, the researchers propose a paradigm shift in the South African educational system to ensure that these learners do not lag in their learning. An effective program that will target their academic and practical skills needs is necessary to motivate them to learn and empower them to achieve financial independence, self-reliance, and productivity. Skills development in TVET will be the glue between their education and the world of work for these learners. Thus, the purpose of the study was to advocate for TVET provision as an empowering tool to elevate the Socioeconomic Status of the learners from a low socioeconomic background at a Johannesburg school. The target population was youths from a low socioeconomic background.

The purpose of the study was to explore Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers learning through Work Integrated Learning (WIL), specifically to establish the nature of their learning and determine how the lecturers understood their learning.

South African universities should do more to support students from low-income households.

Adult learning systems play a crucial role in helping people adapt to the changing world of work and develop relevant skills.

The purpose is to consider the meaning of ‘occupational’ versus ‘vocational’ qualifications, and to illuminate understandings and implications of the conceptualisations of ‘occupational’, ‘vocational’, and ‘professional’ for the education and training system in South Africa. It is the intention that the NQF community will gain insight into the valuable lessons learned to date – for the benefit of all those seeking to develop clearer policy and understanding, and to enable education, training, development and work pathways to work for the people of South Africa.

The study explored how selected TVET engineering students from two colleges in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province viewed their qualifications and employment prospects in the light of youth unemployment in general and among TVET graduates.

“While the unemployment rate among South Africans with a tertiary qualification stood at 7%, it appeared to be a staggering 33% among TVET graduates in 2017,” the authors wrote.

The main findings are:

• 34 students perceived there is a high demand for a TVET engineering qualification;

• The perception of most of the students (79) is that a TVET qualification does not guarantee employment;

• A qualification counts for more than experience; and

• Job scarcity is more of a problem than a lack of skills.