Financing Vocational Education and Training in South Africa

Participation in education in South Africa is high. In 2004, around one-third of all South Africans were enrolled in some form of educational institution on a full-time basis. However, only around 2% of those enrolled were enrolled in an institution other than a school or a tertiary institution (Statistics South Africa, 2005). This is to some extent the concern of this chapter. Poor quality in education and training is perceived as a problem. The starkest manifestation of this in recent years is probably the very poor performance of South Africa in the international Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests in 2003. Skills shortages exist in a variety of fields, but are particularly acute in the engineering, computer-related, education and nursing fields. At the same time, the unemployment rate amongst the unskilled is particularly high. The official unemployment rate for 2005 was 27%. High unemployment rates have been a feature of the South African economy since at least the 1970s.