ABSTRACT
Reform of the skills development system in South Africa has been ongoing since 1994 when the first democratic government was elected into power, and transformation initiatives were directed at redressing the imbalances of the former discriminatory regime. It was only during the last 25 years that Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges have come to be recognised as integral to skills development, more specifically for what has been termed ‘mid-level’ skills training of out-of-school youth, and it is this heretofore largely neglected education sector that will be highlighted herein. We begin with big picture demographic and economic statistics of South Africa in the decades after 1994, a section which ends with a brief sketch of the system of skills provision that emphasises the role of TVET colleges. The next major section is on skills development policy and planning and some of the interventions that have resulted, the successes or failures of which are yet to be determined. Finally, we mention some of the blockages to skills development which are still to be resolved as policies become operationalised. As can be gathered from this chapter, the task of reconstruction is continuing, and there is still much to be done in the areas of skills development, poverty alleviation, and restoring human dignity, inter alia.
