Find research > Output by year
Considering firm surveys: Key data and methodological requirements and issues >
This document provides a broad definition of labour market information, concentrating on the type of labour market information required to support skills planning. It provides an overview of what, where and how this information is being collected (in...
This paper addresses the following: how do we begin to understand informality (and related concepts like unemployment) in context? This is vitally important considering how significant informality (particularly informality at the base of buyer-driven...
The task to which this paper addresses itself is how do we begin to understand informality (and related concepts like unemployment) in context? This is vitally important considering how significant informality (particularly informality at the base of...
Credit constraints and the racial gap in post-secondary education in South Africa >
This paper analyses the impact of high school household income and scholastic ability on post-secondary enrolment in South Africa. Using longitudinal data from the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS), we analyse the large racial gaps in the proportion of hi...
DHET Research Bulletin Edition 1 ( 2013) >
<p>The Research Bulletin on Post‐School Education and Training is published by the Department of Higher Education and Training as a service to the research community and all stakeholders and participants in lifelong learning. The Research Bulletin is...
Fasset sector survey 2012 final report >
This study is the third comprehensive Sector Survey commissioned by the Seta for Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting and other Financial Services (Fasset). The study was conducted in the 2012/2013 financial year and its overall aim was to prov...
Fasset Tracer Study: The value of work-readiness programmes >
Fasset tracer study: The value of work-readiness programmes >
The main aim of this tracer study was to determine the value of the Bonani and Thusanani Work-Readiness Programmes. The specific objectives related to beneficiaries of the Work-Readiness Programmes and the employers where the beneficiaries were emplo...
Final research report for MERSETA OEM chamber: Empowering people with disabilities project >
This report is a summary of the research conducted in the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) chamber of the merSETA. The purpose of the research was: 'To identify the best way to recruit, train and deploy people with disabilities (PwD) on MERSETA...
HSWETA supported programmes and projects: 2010-2013 >
The main goal of the HWSETA skills development programmes and projects is to provide skills to learners in the workplace in scarce and critical areas within the health and social development sector. Outcomes of the skills development interventions ar...
The Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP) together with other related projects holds the promise of refining our tools for an informed and informative skills planning approach, tailored to the specific needs and policy context of South Africa...
merSETA Regional Sector Skills Plan: Western Cape final report >
This Regional Sector Skills Plan (RSSP) is aimed at unpacking the regional specificity of the merSETA subsectors. The objectives of this RSSP are to identify and map key features, trends, forecasts and legislative initiatives at the regional level re...
merSETA regional sector sklls plan: Northern Cape and Free State region >
The Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Education and Training Authority (merSETA) was established through the Skills Development Act, (Act 97 of 1998). The merSETA facilitates skills development in the following five sub-sectors (or cham...
MerSETA: Metal Chamber research project >
The purpose of the current project was to develop an understanding of the skills needs in the Metal and Engineering sector, the factors impacting on future training needs, key drivers of changes with reference to growth in the sector and national pri...
Mining sector wages in South Africa >
The objective of this study is to investigate wage determination issues in the mining sector that have led to episodes of recurring violent strike action. This study aims to investigate the following: How are mining wages determined? What is the perc...
Mining sector wages in South Africa >
<div>The objective of this study is to investigate wage determination issues in the mining sector that have led to episodes of recurring violent strike action. This study aims to investigate the following:</div>_x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ <div>How ar...
This report begins with a broad overview of pre-1994 RPL policy and research; post-1994 policy and implementation developments; developments from 2007; terms of reference and composition of the task team; approach of the task team; submission and eng...
This is a draft strategy report on the research project for the Motor chamber of merSETA. The purpose of this report is to submit an implementation strategy following the findings of the following reports as well as additional desktop research and st...
This report outlines a comprehensive assessment of the impact of various factors on the longer-term skills supply to the Motor Sector. No skills development initiative of value can be sensibly planned and implemented without an understanding of the p...
Occupational shifts and shortages: Skills challenges facing the South African economy >
This report extends the analysis of labour demand trends to the 2001-2012 period. It consists of a descriptive analysis of skill-biased labour demand changes, through an examination of sectoral and occupational employment growth trends. We also consi...
Occupational shifts and shortages: Skills challenges facing the South African economy >
<div>This report extends the analysis of labour demand trends to the 2001–2012 period. It consists of a </div>_x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ <div>descriptive analysis of skill-biased labour demand changes, through an examination of sectoral and </div>_x...
The main purpose of this abridged overview is to provide a summary of the results of the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) Graduate Destination Survey (GDS) of the 2010 cohort of graduates from all four universities in the Western Cape. These f...
Plastic Chamber Research Project: Final report >
This research project was commissioned by the Plastics Chamber of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA). It is the continuation of a research process which began in 2012. The overall aim...
This brief report was compiled by TVET Colleges Technical Task for the HRDCSA Secretariat, as an input for the work of the HRDCSA Technical Working Group and Council. It includes: a summary of the major developments in the TVET college sector; an ove...
Regional sector skills plan: Eastern Cape region >
This Regional Sector Skills Plan (RSSP) is aimed at unpacking the regional specificity of the merSETA subsectors. The objectives of this RSSP are to identify and map key features, trends, forecasts and legislative initiatives at the regional level re...
Regional sector skills plan: Kwazulu-Natal region >
The Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Education and Training Authority (merSETA) was established through the Skills Development Act, (Act 97 of 1998). The merSETA facilitates skills development in the following five sub-sectors (or cham...
Regional sector skills plan: Mpumalanga-Limpopo region >
This Regional Sector Skills Plan (RSSP) is aimed at unpacking the regional specificity of the merSETA subsectors. The objectives of this RSSP are to identify and map key features, trends, forecasts and legislative initiatives at the regional level re...
Regional sector skills plan: Synthesis report >
The Regional Sector Skills Plan (RSSP) is aimed at unpacking the regional specificity of the merSETA subsectors. The objectives of this RSSP were to identify and map out key features, trends, forecasts and legislative initiatives at the regional leve...
Regional skills sector plan Gauteng North West region >
The Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Education and Training Authority (merSETA) established through the Skills Development Act, (Act 97 of 1998). The merSETA facilitates skills development in the following five sub-sectors (or chambers...
This document is intended to provide purposes, principles and recommendations for articulation. These are intended to guide the creation of a policy framework to inform the articulation practices of role-players in the formal post-school education an...
The purpose of the report is to provide the HRD Council with a set of options or models for redesigning the national skills development system so that it better meets the skills needs of South Africa both now and in the long term. In doing so, the re...
<div>The purpose of the report is to provide the HRD Council with a set of options or models for redesigning the national skills development system so that it better meets the skills needs of South Africa both now and in the long term. In doing so, t...
Skills for work and life: Towards a transformative approach >
This presentation focuses on: the return of skills and work to the development agenda.; thinking more radically about skills and work; existing VET orthodoxy; productivism; employability, UNESCO's three skills lenses; a new, broader notion of VET; a...
The overarching purpose of the Labour Market Intelligence Partnership Programme Theme 4 projects is to explore how diverse types of education and training institutions in the emerging post-school terrain are responding to increasingly changing and co...
South African Labour Market Microdata Scoping Study >
This study investigates sources of data available for analysis of the South African labour market. It is a data discovery exercise to determine what data is available for policy research and to assist policy analysts to locate data sources relevant t...
Studying artisans in the manufacturing, engineering and related services sector >
Given extensive changes globally in the nature of training and employment of artisans over the last few decades, the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA) commissioned the Human Sciences Res...
Understanding labour demand in South Africa and the importance of data sources >
The aim of this paper is to clarify what is meant by labour demand in the Department of Higher Education and Training's (DHET) Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP) project, to highlight the sources of data that can be used to understand labo...
Understanding labour demand in South Africa and the importance of data sources >
<div>The aim of this paper is to clarify what is meant by labour demand in the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP) project, to highlight the sources of data that can be used to understand...
Using the Delphi Method to select key indicators for skills planning >
This working paper explores how the Delphi method can be applied to selecting indicators for skills planning. The first part of the paper presents a brief overview of the Delphi method and the underlying theory, including definitions of the method, i...
The White Paper sets out strategies to improve the capacity of the post-school education and training system to meet South Africa's needs. It outlines policy directions to guide the DHET and the institutions for which it is responsible in order to co...
Work education framework South Africa >
The Worker Education Technical Task Team, one of nine in the HRDC, commissioned a Worker Education Study in November 2012: To conduct an analysis and attain a common understanding of the current provision and understanding of the three pillars namely...
Worker education framework South Africa >
The Worker Education Technical Task Team, one of nine in the HRDC, commissioned a Worker Education Study in November 2012: To conduct an analysis and attain a common understanding of the current provision and understanding of the three pillars namely...
This paper contextualises training and skills development needs for Early Childhood Development (ECD) in South Africa with a particular focus on children between the ages of 0 and 4 years. It attempts to review and synthesise existing research on ski...
AATP tracer study report: Final >
The merSETA AATP programme is about pacing and structuring the development of competent apprentices over a period of two to three years. Apprentices entering the programme had to have higher entry qualifications than the normal four-year apprenticesh...
Alignment of Sector Skills Planning to the NGP >
<p>This paper was developed under the auspices of the Human Resource Development Council as part of the work of the Task Team reviewing ways in which skills development (including all occupational training at the different levels of the post-schoolin...
An Analysis of the South African Tyre Manufacturing Industry’s Skills Demand Profile: 2009-2020 >
This research report has been compiled for the New Tyre Chamber of the MerSETA, in response to its request for the completion of a sector report focusing on future employment and associated skills demands within the South African tyre manufacturing i...
Better foresters Stellenbosch and forest industry >
This presentation focuses on the relationship between Stellenbosch and the forest industry with regard to the role of universities, industry and education partnerships, and with reference to the 2010-2012 Graduate survey.
Briefing paper on private post-school education in South Africa >
This paper notes the explosion of private post-school provision globally during the past two decades. It then provides a brief outline of Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) research work done on private post-school education and training in South...
Contemporary issues in public FET colleges >
This paper provides a snapshot view of salient contemporary issues in public Further Education and Training (FET) colleges arising out of successive policy interventions since 1998. The paper does not dwell on early concomitant developments in educat...
This concept paper provides a snapshot view of salient contemporary issues in public Further Education and Training (FET) colleges arising out of successive policy interventions since 1998. The paper does not dwell on early concomitant developments i...
Critical review of the research on skills development in rural areas >
This paper aims to answer the following two overarching questions: what do we know about rural skills development in South Africa? What are key research challenges (conceptual, policy and methodological) to address as a first step to overcome the cou...
Data considerations for education and labour market indicators >
Education and labour market planning cannot take place in a vacuum. As the Department of Higher Education's (DHET's) Green Paper for Post-school Education and Training (DHET, 2012: 81) puts it, 'The foundation of any planning process is the existence...
Developing a framework for institutional planning and monitoring in FET colleges >
Drawing on international models of good practice, this paper outlines the emerging framework for M&E, introduced by the DHET in 2011, which takes into account the relationship between system-level monitoring and institutional monitoring. The document...
Developing a framework for institutional planning and monitoring in FET colleges >
Duplicate of 03 Anthony Gewer_FET College ME.pdf.
Developing a framework for understanding Seta performance >
The paper begins by exploring the central issue highlighted in a number of research reports on the SETAs: the absence of a shared understanding of their role. The paper argues that multiple objectives have an adverse effect on the performance of the...
Development of a national skills forecasting model >
This working paper argues that the development of a National Skills forecasting model is necessitated by the need to improve transparency in South Africa's labour markets, the desire to increase the skill level of its population, and the need to unde...
Differentiation in the post-school sector >
This paper begins from the bold assumption that it is intermediate skills that are critical to the future growth of the South African economy. Discussion in the Briefing Paper is arranged in the following way. Differentiation in higher education is c...
Employability in the engineering industry >
The study was undertaken to evaluate employability in the engineering industry through the eyes of recently graduated students, heads of FET Colleges and employers from various companies, operating in merSETA sectors and sub-sectors. Each of these gr...
Establishing a foundation for labour market information systems in South Africa >
<p>The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the key issues and problems in establishing a labour market information system in an emerging economy. The paper is structured as follows: section one considers some of the key high-level foun...
Innovation, skills development and South African labour market intelligence >
The interface between innovation and skills development is relevant to a range of policy imperatives, including those outlined in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, the Department of Higher Education's National Skills Development Strategy III, and...
Is post-school education adult education and training? >
This paper starts tracing the different developments and dynamics of the different discourses that have emerged as adult education. It also presents a brief history on the kind of adult education South Africa has, comparing this with the newly emergi...
This paper seeks to provide a discussion of South African and International literature concerning transitions (pathways) studies as well as the state of theory and analysis used in understanding the evolving relationship between education and work. M...
Made to measure? Some international reflections on developing VET Indicators >
<p>The DHET Labour Market Intelligence project is one of the largest scale attempts globally in recent years to develop systems and capacity to measure the performance of post-compulsory education and training systems. As such, it offers the prospect...
Business Enterprises at the University of Pretoria (BE at UP) was appointed to conduct high impact research for the Motor Chamber of merSETA. Decision-makers at merSETA realised that there are various challenges pertaining to skills required by the M...
his is the second interim report of the Employment and Educational and Skills Audit research project of the merSETA Motor Chamber. The first report focused on the impact study and this report is a logical continuation of the first report. Since merSE...
National database sets and research on labour market demand >
This study shows that none of the previous work on skills needs in South Africa can claim to have predicted detailed skills needs in different sectors with great quantitative precision, although it contributed to and informed skills planning in the c...
National database sets available for post-school sector (supply side) >
The main research question in this working paper is: What recommendations can be suggested to DHET in support of the production of labour market supply intelligence towards enhancing labour market supply data sources, networks and practises? The foll...
National Skills Development Strategy III >
The key driving force of this strategy is improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the skills development system. This strategy represents an explicit commitment to encouraging the linking of skills development to career paths, career developmen...
Pathways through education and training and into the labour market >
Cross-sectional surveys of student trajectories through the education and training systems and into the labour market, like those mounted by Statistics South Africa, are useful in providing snapshots of the status quo at any given time. Because stude...
Project report: COMET pilot test South Africa >
Quality measurement instruments are an essential factor for TVET practice, planning and policy to establish and maintain an innovative TVET system. Based on this rationale the project partners merSETA and the University of Bremen (I:BB) have initiate...
Reconfiguring the post-school sector >
This paper addresses theme 4 of the DHET commissioned research on developing credible sectoral and institutional mechanisms for skills planning in the post school sectors in South Africa. The paper specifically explores issues and research around asp...
This paper hopes to provide a backdrop for understanding the nature and context of the 'basic education' subsector of post-schooling in relation to the issues and challenges it faces. The paper thus examines the system of basic education within the l...
This paper applies the capabilities approach to the broader debate of the role of vocational education and training (VET) in poverty alleviation. The capabilities approach provides an approach for conceptualising and evaluating VET which differs in o...
Review of research on skills development and qualifications structures >
This paper seeks to explore the relationship between skills development, qualifications and the qualification structure in South Africa. This focus can be located in concerns that there appears to be a disjuncture between the development of knowledge...
The type of economic growth experienced by South Africa since the 1970s and well beyond 1994, has had a fundamental impact on the nature of employment movements at the sectoral and occupational level. In turn, this pattern of employment has been cruc...
Synthesis report: Assessing the impact of learnerships and apprenticeships under NSDSII >
Our study adopted a pathways conceptual approach (Raffe, 2003; Harris et al, 2006), focusing on the trajectories of (young) people in the transition from school to un/employment, various forms of further study, and into the labour market. Central to...
The state of co-operatives in South Africa: The need for further research >
The purpose of a study on co-operatives is to draw a clear picture of the co-operatives status quo which includes how many they are, what they do, how the market for their products is, what the operating conditions are, what capacity enhancement need...
The state of graduate teacher transition to the labour market >
Education has a critical role to play in the broader economic and social development of communities. Integral in any education projection are teachers that are skilled and are able to offer quality education. Various kinds of both national and intern...
Towards a generic survey of labour market information in South Africa >
This paper investigates the current state of South African firm-level studies. It is evident that divergence in when studies were researched and written and variation in research agendas and approaches hinders the understanding and tracking of the pr...
Towards responsiveness and employability in the FET college sector >
This paper reviews the field of educational research in South Africa in terms of the allied concepts of responsiveness and employability. The paper discusses the definitions of the two concepts and outlines the debates around the definitions of the c...
This concept paper explores how the transition from education to employment of graduates is measured. It reflects not only on the findings of a number of recent research reports and projects, but also on the methodologies adopted by such research pro...
The paper starts off by drawing from recent empirical research on artisanal skills production in South Africa that has highlighted key systemic blockages to increased artisan development. This is an important starting point, as the decline in artisan...
Vocational education and training for development: A policy in need of a theory? >
The current decade has seen a significant return of interest in vocational education and training (VET) amongst the international policy community. This rise in policy and programmatic interest in VET's role in development, however, stands in contras...
The key research question of this report is: Why is it important to look at identification of skill needs for the green and low-carbon economy? Most research questions about the impact of the transition to a low carbon economy require significant ana...
Nine years after the launch of the Learnership programme, considerable efforts have been undertaken by various organisations to implement the programme. However, the implementation of the programme is still faced with various challenges which hamper...
The objective of this study is to assess the demand and supply of skills within the metal fabrication, capital equipment and transport equipment sectors between 2011 and 2015. The study aims to inform the DTI - as a key interface between economic str...
Confronting youth unemployment: Policy options for South Africa >
The publication of this discussion paper will initiate a process of public consultation regarding options available to the state to increase the number of youths in employment. The consultation process will include discussions within the economic sec...
Self-Empowerment International (SEI) were appointed by MERSETA to conduct a pilot project on assisting small and medium-sized enterprises to develop an HIV/AIDS strategy for their workplace. The pilot project was conducted for 37 companies. Key findi...
Human capital outlook implications for skills development in the pharmaceutical sector >
The Department of Trade and Industry (the DTI) commissioned Ilangabe Lase Africa to conduct research into human capital outlook implications for skills development in the pharmaceutical sector, with a specific focus on IPAP-2-identified growth opport...
merSETA disability research project >
Historically the inclusion of people with a disability in the learnership process has been managed without addressing the inherent requirements of both the learner and the learnership. It has been universally accepted that people with a disability ca...
Plastics and rubber industry: Value chain maps >
Maps and infographics of the full plastic life cycle.
This report documents the findings of the review of the provision of student housing in the public university education system in South Africa undertaken by the Ministerial Committee established in August 2010 by the Minister of Higher Education and...
The current dominant account of aid to education focuses on schooling and official development assistance and talks in terms of policy work, donor harmonisation and, increasingly, budgetary support. However, this approach is limited in a number of wa...
Education, training and skills development in the Cape Town City region: Background paper >
This background report provides an overview of current conditions, capacity and performance on the education and training supply side in the Cape Town City Region, as distinct from and in relation to provincial and national trends. The Cape Town City...
This study investigates a range of campus experiences, perceptions of and attitudes to campus processes and practices, and the social context in which students learn and staff, faculty and administrators work. It seeks to clarify the enabling and con...
MerSETA research symposium on FET colleges, industry and employability: Emerging perspectives >
This Employability Symposium Report documents the proceedings of the merSETA Research Symposium on FET Colleges, Industry and Employability Education Partnerships for Africa Research Project seminar. The report builds on other research and impact stu...
Pathways through the education and training system: Do we need a new model? >
This brief presentation uses the existing pathways model to illustrate blockages and bottlenecks in education-labour market articulation. In so doing it suggests a revised pathways model of education and training in South Africa.
<div>This briefing paper highlights the following main objectives and broad questions within the LMIP, exploring the NIDS data - through recent migration: are there links between recent migrations of individuals (x) AND employment status/labour...
Student retention and graduate destination: Higher education and labour market access and success >
Student attrition has been a perennial theme in South African higher education throughout the past decade. In its National Plan for Higher Education (2001), the Department of Education attributed high dropout rates primarily to financial and/or acade...
This report sets out to provide merSETA with a better understanding of the impact of the 2008/9 global and local economic crises on the South African (SA) automotive, metals and plastics sectors. In line with merSETA's mandate to facilitate skills de...
This paper delves beneath the widespread belief that education (often repackaged as human capital) is important in development to consider the role that the discipline of education plays in shaping the wider discourses of development. In particular,...
The connection between poverty and lack of education seems entirely self-evident, yet real progress in overcoming the obstacles to education and economic affluence has eluded governments and social activists worldwide for decade. This document intend...
This report analyses information contained in Workplace Skills Plans (WSPs) and Annual Training Reports (ATRs) submitted to merSETA by companies in the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services sector in the years 2005 to 2007. The study object...
Fasset customer satisfaction research report 2009 >
The overall objective of this research report is to conduct a Customer Satisfaction Survey with a sample of FASSET's stakeholders i.e., employers, learners, service providers, partners, professional bodies and staff. This survey is for the period of...
Fasset QCTO research background paper 2009 >
Fasset has appointed EE Research Focus (Pty) Ltd to work with role players in Fasset's sector and to revisit the financial occupation names and descriptions as they occur on the Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO). This project is necessary be...
Fasset sector skills plan 2005 to 2011: Update for the 2010/2011 financial year >
This report provides an overview of the sector, factors that influence change in the sector, the demand for skills, employment trends, forecasted demand, the supply of skills, the availability of financial skills in the economy, formation of new skil...
Global trends and TVET: The case of South Africa (draft) >
Globalisation and contemporary global trends are two different things and impact differently on technical and vocational education and on any consideration of a future role for UNESCO on TVET at the country and global level. The global economic slowd...
Skills shortages in South Africa: Case studies of key professions >
South Africa's skills shortages are widely regarded as a key factor preventing the achievement of targeted growth rates. There is some dispute as to the nature and extent of these shortages, given that the country also has a large pool of unemployed...
Teacher graduate production in South Africa >
The quality of any national education system depends on its teachers. In recent years in South Africa, teacher supply has become a matter of national concern. This monograph examines changes in enrolment and graduation patterns of education students...
The need for a learnership in financial markets >
In the 2008/2009 strategic planning session Fasset's board provisionally allocated an amount for the development of such a learnership but requested an objective research report on the need for the learnership before the money would be made available...
This paper considers the role that skills development has in the sustainability of the South African political-economic project. It explores some of the disarticulations of public policy and argues that these both undermine public sector delivery and...
Women in management in the financial services sector in South Africa: A review of the literature >
The need to correct racial and gender imbalances and to increase the labour participation of all population groups in the South African economy is widely accepted. Despite legislation and other measures to eradicate inequalities, the 2007 employment...
A sectoral analysis of wood, paper, pulp industries in South Africa >
The primary purpose of this research project is to facilitate synchronisation of the education and training requirements of the wood, paper, and pulp (WPP) sector with its development strategies. It seeks to enhance complementarities within the Depar...
A synthesis of current issues in the labour regulatory environment >
Over the past two years, a selection of research papers, in the main written by labour law experts, have provided critical input and guidance on the nature of the debate around the efficiency of the labour regulatory environment in South Africa. In N...
Artisans/trades: Scarce and Critical Skills Research Project >
This study is part of a range of research projects commissioned by the Department of Labour on aspects of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS: 1 April 2005 31 March 2010) and on aspects of the labour market and skills development policies...
Changes in education since 1994 >
This study was commissioned by the Policy Unit of the Office of the Presidency. Aim The Policy Unit is conducting a fifteen-year review of government business. The main aim of the review is to assess the outcome and impact of policies, programmes and...
In the late apartheid era, it was assumed that the demand for planners post-apartheid would grow considerably due to the diversification of the field and a focus on the needs of the majority, rather than the minority. A study of the demand for planne...
Education and poverty reduction strategies: Issues of policy coherence >
The connection between poverty and lack of education seems entirely self-evident, yet real progress in overcoming the obstacles to education and economic affluence has eluded governments and social activists worldwide for decades. This book interroga...
Educators: Scarce and critical skills research project >
The Department of Labour commissioned a Research Consortium which included the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to undertake a range of research projects on aspects of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) (1 April 2005 31...
Employment and learning pathways of learnership participants in the NSDS phase II >
It is striking that the period in which learnerships have been implemented is very short seven years. The challenges of creating a new skills development system based on the old fragmented and unequal system of 'manpower training' are vast. Empirical...
Fasset sector skills plan 2005 to 2010: Update for the 2009/2010 financial year >
This report provides an overview of the sector, factors that influence change in the sector, the demand for skills, employment trends, the supply of skills, the availability of financial skills in the economy, formation of new skills for the sector,...
FET college lecturers: The 'devolving' link in the South African skills development equation >
<p>National attention on the role of skills development has focused on the role of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in providing intermediate-level education and training necessary to meet the South African national development challenge...
Human capital dynamics in three technology platforms: Nuclear, space and biotechnology >
In South Africa, big science was made part of the reconstituted national innovation system from the very beginning and has become more prominent ever since. It co-existed somewhat uneasily with lower-tech activities in national innovation strategy do...
formation and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely understood to be an enabler of economic growth (UNDP 2001a). South Africa's Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who launched the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (Asgisa), indic...
Impact assessment of learnerships and apprenticeships >
The merSETA is committed to seeking new and better methods to promote skills development. In order to do this, a deeper understanding of participants in learnership and apprenticeship programmes is necessary: an understanding of their motivations, ex...
Implementation evaluation of the NQF Act (2008): Reflections on the draft findings-Umalusi >
This presentation reflects on the draft findings of the Implementation Evaluation of the NQF Act (2008). It also highlights NQF Act successes and challenges, and NQF gaps, as well as recommendations.
Implementation Evaluation of the NQF Act (2008): Response to the Draft Evaluation Report >
This presentation reflects on the findings and recommendations of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO); NQF successes; and NQF challenges; as well as providing recommendations for improvement to the NQF.
Law professionals: Scarce and Critical Skills Research Project >
The Department of Labour has commissioned a Research Consortium (comprising the Human Sciences Research Council, the Development Policy Research Unit, and the Sociology of Work Unit) to undertake a range of research projects on aspects of the second...
Making visible the invisible: Confronting South Africa's decent work deficit >
This report argues that national direct surveys of households, such as the biannual Labour Force Surveys issued by Statistics South Africa, are useful in measuring the numbers of those in employment, but that they are unable to measure the size and n...
merSETA ABET project final report >
This research was undertaken in order to establish the current status and impact of Adult Basic Education and Training within the MERSETA. The brief for this project required that the research provide reliable information on the current situation wit...
merSETA report: Impact assessment of learnerships and apprenticeships >
This study was commissioned by the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (MERSETA) with the aim of ascertaining the efficiency and effectiveness of the learnership and apprenticeship systems and to assess their impact on the demand for...
This research report is more than simply an exploration of skills demand and supply issues in the South African automotive components industry. It is a report that explores the South African institutional environment's ability to supply a high value...
Projected skills and supply for the electrical energy sector >
The research aims to: Provide support for government's AsgiSA initiative with a particular focus on skills development and job creation; Contribute to the better alignment between skills development policies with industrial or sector initiatives/poli...
Sectorial analysis of the aerospace industry in South Africa >
There is an on-going policy concern to ensure that South Africa has the appropriate skills base both now and in the future to sustain economic growth and to compete internationally in a number of identified 'priority sectors', including aerospace. Th...
Skills development for poverty reduction: Can FET colleges deliver? >
This report begins by establishing the envisaged role of FET colleges in the national development trajectory. This is followed by an analysis of the current form, context and challenges facing the sector in South Africa. It concluded by examining the...
Social Work as a scarce and critical profession >
The constraint of high-level skills within the South African labour market is considered by government to be a key obstacle to achieving its target of a six percent economic growth rate. In support of the challenges to address skills shortages, the v...
The primary aim of this project was to contribute to the attainment of greater alignment between skills development strategies and the development requirements of the South African (SA) chemical sector, in particular with the launch of the Accelerate...
State of skills in South Africa, 2007-2008 >
The State of Skills, 2007-8 focuses exclusively on the findings of a series of research projects commissioned by the Department of Labour in July 2006 and completed in March 2008. The research was undertaken by a consortium of partners including the...
Survey of the financial and accounting services sector May 2008 final report >
The overall aim of the sector study was to provide Fasset with an integrated profile of the Financial and Accounting Services Sector, the education and training provision to the sector, and the skills needs and requirements of the sector. The specifi...
The creative industries in South Africa >
<p>This report delivers three observations made from an analysis of the South African data sources and research into creative industries since the CIGS process. First, data quality and availability: The first observation from this analysis is that re...
This report concerns the skills profiles that characterise the Financial Services sector and its principal sub-sectors. In particular, it examines the possible causes of slow delivery that stand in the way of additional skills supply to the wide rang...
The first challenge that one confronts in attempting to define the skills shortage among managers is the basic issue of who or what a manager is. Unfortunately, the challenge is not only confined to issues of qualifications; levels or types of manage...
The marketing of public FET colleges in South Africa: Issues for policy and practice >
<p>This paper considers the rising trend of introducing marketing practices into public education through the lens of South African further education and training colleges. It provides a review of the international literature on 'for-profit' and 'non...
The shortage of medical doctors in South Africa >
This study on medical doctors forms part of a broader study entitled A multiple source identification and verification of scarce and critical skills in the South African labour market which is, in turn, one of a number of Skills Development Research...
Tourism: Sector studies research project >
Within the context of the national importance assigned to the development of the South African tourism sector as a contributor to overall national economic and employment growth, this sector study attempts to answer one key question for its client, t...
Towards a national human resources database >
This report provides a synthesis of two research papers commissioned by the Employment Promotion Programme (EPP) on the review and suitability of the National Learners Records Database (NLRD) to become the National Human Resources Database. The objec...
The aim of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) of 1998 is to redress fundamental labour market inequities and to minimise discrimination on the basis of demographic profile (race, gender) as well as disability and HIV status. However, as we show in this...
Analysing wage formation in the SA labour market: The role of bargaining councils >
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the role of bargaining councils in wage formation in the South African labour market. Specifically, the study aims to determine what premium is associated with Bargaining Council membership as distinct...
<p>The article argues for a case for a 'revisioning' of the education policy-implementation nexus in the South African higher education sector. It is proposed that the well-meaning idealism expressed in policy pronouncements is necessarily subject to...
Beyond the basics: Educating and training out of poverty >
The International Journal of Educational Development exists to debate issues about the relationship between education and development. One of the perennial elements of these debates has focused on identifying the most suitable types of education to e...
Labour reform in South Africa: Measuring regulation and a synthesis of policy suggestions >
This paper, in trying to mature the debate on labour regulation and worker protection, has two key objectives. Firstly, we attempt to provide more nuanced and empirically-based measures of labour regulation and worker protection for South Africa, wit...
This thesis examines the extent to which the private Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector in South Africa is responsive to national development. National development is understood as associated with a range of socio-economic...
Three important elements of a South African vision for high skills must be spreading skills improvements across the population in general, creating policy coherence and constructing new institutions. This article examines these issues through an inve...
Skills shortages in South Africa: A literature review >
This paper conducts a review of the literature on skills shortages in South Africa. It is demonstrated that different Government departments have different views concerning the definition of skills shortages. This is largely due to the omission in an...
While the economic growth performance in the first decade of democracy continues to be justifiably lauded, severe and seemingly intractable welfare challenges remain. Nowhere is this welfare need more acute than within the area of labour markets. An...
An examination of the vocational education and training reform debate in Southern Africa >
This paper explores the role that vocational education and training (VET) can play in Southern African responses to major socio-economic challenges. It argues that this role will be most pronounced if it is articulated within a broader educational an...
A vision of the ideal partnerships between higher education and industry in a rapidly globalising knowledge economy is becoming increasingly prevalent. However, there is a great deal of dissonance between this vision and the realities of research, in...
Higher education and work: Setting a new research agenda >
Higher education and Work consists of two papers. The first provides an analysis of research on graduate employment in South Africa and reflects on the state of research on graduate employment and unemployment in South Africa, while the second looks...
Knowledge, curriculum and qualifications for South African further education >
All countries, and South Africa is no exception, face acute dilemmas in modernising their systems of upper secondary and further education and training. Faced with pressures from the fast-changing world of work, this education sector has become chara...
Skills for development: A new approach to international cooperation in skills development? >
Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) was a central tool of development cooperation from the 1950s through to the 1980s. However, with the rise of education for all in the 1990s, TVET 'fell from grace'. At the beginning of the twenty...
Work readiness and graduate recruitment in the Fasset sector >
The objective of the research is to conceptualise the skills and competencies required from graduates for entry level positions and to determine if the skills and competencies that are advanced by means of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme and deem...
In this paper, the authors explore the rationale for a focus on PBET as a major tool in poverty reduction in South Africa. This requires a consideration of the specific pattern of development of South Africa through colonialism, Apartheid and ten yea...
Private and further education and training in South Africa: The changing landscape >
Private provision of Technical and Vocational Further Education and Training (TVET) in the Further Education and Training (FET) band in the South African education system is an issue of national importance. To date however, information about the prec...
The phenomenon of partnerships between public higher education institutions and private providers of higher education in South Africa began in the early 1990s. While partnerships emerged in the distance education sub-sector, they soon became a featur...
Vocational education and training in Southern Africa: A comparative study >
This volume is intended to develop and share knowledge within the southern African region regarding the challenges faced by vocational education and training (VET) systems and the responses to these challenges. Some of these challenges arise out of t...
Chasing credentials and mobility: Private higher education in South Africa >
This books brings a different set of lenses to bear on what has become the subject of intense contestation, of 'media hype', in South Africa: the private provision of higher education. This books seeks to provide a way to move beyond any polarisation...
Developing a national skills forecasting tool for South Africa >
In 2003, the South African Department of Labour, supported by the European Union, commissioned research to investigate the feasibility of developing quantitative forecasting models to help identify future skills needs in South Africa. The aims of the...
Globalisation and education training in South Africa: On being GEAR(ed)! >
This paper takes as a point of departure that nations are able to respond to, and are responding to, the phenomenon in ways designed to extract maximum national benefit, albeit sometimes driven by a narrow-focussed short-termism. However, the capacit...
Knowledge-based aid: A four-agency comparative study >
Part of the response of many development cooperation agencies to the challenges of globalisation, ICTs and the knowledge economy is to emphasise the importance of knowledge for development. This paper looks at the discourses and practices of 'knowled...
This study established the baseline status of institutions that will be supported by the SESD programme, namely the National Department of Education's FET Directorate, provincial FET Directories and designated colleges in the provinces of Kwa-Zulu Na...
Shifting understanding of skills in South Africa >
This book is an attempt to examine the multiple and shifting meanings that skill has taken on in South Africa. It does so with a view primarily to how skill is being played out in contemporary policies and practices within the country, but it affirms...
Who benefits from knowledge for development? >
This article questions the notion of 'knowledge for development' being seen as an answer to the challenges posed by globalisation, ICTs and the knowledge economy.
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