Systematizing Student Support Services in TVET Colleges: Progressing from Policy

Abstract

The expansion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in order to address goals of economic participation and poverty alleviation through skills development, particularly for youth, is currently on the agenda of many developing countries. In South Africa TVET has only recently emerged from decades of neglect and marginalization, and national policies are attempting to rebuild the profile of vocational training institutions through targeted advocacy and funding. In light of employment imperatives however, narrow human capital and productivist perspectives have tended to dominate, at the expense of broader human development outcomes which have been under-theorized in the literature. This chapter focuses on students who typically enrol at public TVET colleges and the significant barriers to success that they confront, not least of which is the negative stereotyping which is still part of the TVET experience. While policy initiatives have recognized the wide-ranging support services that may be needed, many colleges are still a long way off from adopting a holistic and systemic approach to student support, for which funding is only gradually coming on-stream. To date there have been some sponsored intervention programs, one of which is highlighted herein for the potential it has shown in the psycho-social support of students as they build skills for both life and work.