The South African preoccupation with worker skills and skills acquisition is addressed and analyzed in this compilation of essays on the multiple and shifting meanings of the word skill within the country.

This volume draws together two studies for the Department of Labour, a picture of the dynamism of many such firms emerges. Considerable learning is going on amongst the highly diverse VSME population and the challenge for the state lies in how to support what is already going on: how to spread it and how to avoid over-interference in enterprises whose success has typically been irrespective of, or in spite of external interventions. The Research Programme on Human Resources Development (HRD) at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) aims to inform the development of skills that will meet national, social and economic needs. In addition to producing an HRD Review and an electronically accessible cross-sectoral warehouse, the Research Programme undertakes user-driven research in education and training, focusing on further and higher education and science, technology and education, with a strong emphasis on learning pathways - especially the transition between different levels of education and training, and between education and work.

There is a growing global interest in Africa and how to improve the quality of life of its people and for good reason. The world can no longer afford to ignore the democratic changes that have occurred across the continent over the past two decades, changes with tremendous implications for professional education and training for the tasks of nation

An evaluation of the ANC's second phase of the national democratic revolution. In the face of the continuing national tragedy of the inequality, poverty and unemployment which have triggered rising working-class discontent around the country, the ANC announced a 'second phase' of the 'national democratic revolution' to deal with the challenges. Ironically, the ANC post-Mangaung has resolved to preserve the core tenets of the minerals-energy-financial complex that defined racial capitalism - while at the same time ratcheting up the revolutionary rhetoric to keep the working class and marginalised onside. If the 'first phase' was a tragedy of the unmet expectations of the majority, is the 'second phase' likely to be a farce? The chapters in this volume are written by experts in their fields and address issues of politics, power and social class; economy, ecology and labour; public policy and social practice; and South Africa beyond its borders. They examine some of these challenges, and indicate that they are as much about the defective content of policies as their poor implementation. The third volume of the New South African Review continues the series by providing in-depth analyses of the key issues facing the country today.

In the face of accelerated economic globalisation, many of the industries in economically less developed countries have become more technology-intensive. Skill formation processes, both inside and outside firms, are therefore changing. This study scrutinises such transformations by comparing - from the perspective of historical institutionalism - the skill formation regimes of the garment industries in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It sheds light on the differences between the trajectories of the in-firm skill formation regimes of the two countries, and reveals the important part that varying paths of educational development in both countries have played in shaping these trajectories. At the same time, the study shows how, in both countries, state-led skill formation regimes have been transformed not only by market forces and the growing importance of corporate business interests, but also by the social demand for educational credentials.

This book proposes transformative, realist methodology for skills research and planning through an analysis of case studies of the changing world of work, new learning pathways and educational system challenges. Studies of the green economy and sustainability transitions are a growing field internationally, however there are few books that link this interest to the development of skills. This book draws on, and showcases, the experience and insights of researcher-practitioners who are at the cutting edge in this emerging field, internationally and in South Africa. The context for this book is South Africa, but application is worldwide. In many ways indicative of the global picture, South Africa is in the grip of economic and environmental imperatives, searching for safe and just transitions. The authors present a new, embedded transitioning systems model for studying skills for a sustainable, just future. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainable development, ecological economics and skills planning.

This text analyses how technical colleges have responded to the emerging field of further education and training (FET) in South Africa. The data and theories presented are the result of research conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council, including surveys of technical college graduates and employers on their satisfaction with college graduates and institutional profiles of local labor markets. The international case studies of vocational and technical education demonstrate the interrelatedness of education and training systems.