"Doing something in life”: Rural youth reimagining technical vocational education and training

Abstract

Recent post-schooling policy continues to emphasise the importance of technical vocational education and training (TVET) for employability in the workplace, thus largely reflecting the interests of capital. However, the discourse of educating for employability is under increasing attack as unemployment levels rise; and recent policy has begun to argue for a consideration of skills for livelihoods other than formal employment. Unemployment disproportionately affects the youth and those living in rural areas, and TVET policy has begun to address this. However, such policy remains firmly within neoliberalism, and does not address the interests or lived experience of rural youth. A reimagining of TVET is required. In this, there is a need to understand what rural youth themselves consider to be most appropriate for local development needs. This article reports on a qualitative study done with ten youth from Limpopo Province to investigate what sort of TVET out-of-school youth consider to be relevant in their context. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. n.d. Agricultural Education and Training Access Barriers Report. <http://www.nda.agric.za/doaDev> 11 March 2012 Department of Higher Education and Training. (2011). National skills development strategy III. Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. Department of Higher Education and Training. (2012). Green paper for postschool education and training. Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. Department of Higher Education and Training. (2013). White Paper for postschool education and training. Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. Department of Higher Education and Training. (2015). Policy on minimum requirements for programmes leading to qualifications for educators and lecturers in adult and community education and training. Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. (2011). National rural youth service corps. <RLINK"http://www.info.gov.za/"\hhttp://www.info.gov.za> 11 October 2012. DPLG. n.d. Report on the baseline research for youth development, gender equity and disability. <www.cogta.gov.za> 1 May 2012.

Re-imagining tomorrow: our turn, our time, our future

“…The effects on lower-income countries were devastating (International Labour Organization 2020). As a result, youth unemployment has increased significantly (Maluleke & Harley 2016). However, amid these challenges, entrepreneurship has been promoted extensively among young people, which will support estranged youth to enter the mainstream economy.…”