An Analysis of How TVET is Playing a Significant Role in Fostering Students’ Skills and Competencies in South Africa

Abstract

It is generally acceptable that the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plays a vital role in all aspects of the economy and the society at large in that it is a viable transformative tertiary educational institution for promoting and realising the South African government's developmental strategy and agenda. Essentially, it seeks to ensure that learners who failed to secure admission to the university still have the opportunity to go to tertiary institutions where they will learn and acquire skills and competency that will make them employable, be self-employed and become employers by creating jobs. Also, this paper shows that in the quest for economic growth and development, TVET has moved to the forefront of political changes aimed at eliminating poverty, unemployment, and inequality. More importantly, TVET positioned itself to address the government's developmental challenges and difficulties through the provision of high-quality education to students to skill and empower them. Against this backdrop, TVET continues to be a reliable institution to train and educate young people to build the ideal of a democratic developmental state. Received: 5 July 2023 / Accepted: 21 April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024