Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provision takes place in a wide range of institutions and settings, including Universities of Technology (UoTs), technical high schools, schools of skill, workplaces, assessment centres, State Owned Corporations (SOCs) training centres, TVET colleges, and in-house training facilities. Public TVET colleges span a large geographic area and are present in all nine provinces, catering to both urban and rural areas (Papier, 2020). There are 50 public TVET colleges with 260 campuses spread across all nine provinces.
The five-year research programme (2019-2024), aimed at improving the TVET college system in South Africa (SA) is being managed and supported by the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) Institute for Post-School Studies (IPSS). The programme is led by Prof Joy Papier and Dr Seamus Needham.
The aim of the programme is to build a significant local body of knowledge that can inform TVET policymakers, practitioners, prospective employers, learners and their communities, about the inputs, practices, performance and outcomes of public TVET colleges, with a view to enhancing knowledge and understanding for planning and delivery of interventions towards continuous improvement.
The programme seeks to establish sustainable research processes, link research to policy and practice, and build capacity at policy and knowledge-building levels. Key research themes include an overview of the TVET college sector, responsiveness to the world of work, access and demand for TVET, evaluation of TVET colleges, teaching and learning, TVET college lecturer development, and private TVET colleges.
