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Skills development and structural change: Possibilities for and limitations of redressing structural racial inequalities in South Africa

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Abstract

Improving structural racial equality for historically-disadvantaged Black South Africans, including low-skilled and unemployed adults and youths, is a pertinent challenge for the South African government during the ongoing transition from apartheid capitalism to post-apartheid capitalism. Within the framework of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS), the introduction of “learnerships” and “learning programmes”, which include structured learning programmes, learnerships, apprenticeships and skills programmes, has had some impact. But emerging theoretical perspectives assert that apartheid structural racial inequalities persist and that structural reform is imperative. Opposing positions translate into two perspectives on social transition: either capitalism can be de-racialised, or capitalism in South Africa should be dismantled in order to de-racialise it. After a review of relevant literature and governmental documents, the author identifies five structural and pedagogical barriers as likely causes for low completion rates of skills development courses and concludes that structural reform needs more favourable political and economic conditions in order to be successful.

Résumé

Développement des compétences et réforme structurelle : possibilités et limites dans la réduction des inégalités raciales structurelles en Afrique du Sud – Améliorer l’égalité raciale structurelle pour les Sud-Africains noirs, traditionnellement défavorisés et constitués en majorité de jeunes et d’adultes sans emploi et peu qualifiés, est un important défi pour le gouvernement sud-africain actuel lors de cette transition du capitalisme de l’apartheid à un capitalisme post-apartheid. Dans le cadre de la stratégie nationale de développement des compétences (NSDS), l’introduction de « groupes d’apprentissage » et de « programmes éducatifs » , comprenant des programmes d’apprentissage structuré, l’apprentissage alterné en groupes, l’apprentissage professionnel et des programmes de qualification, a obtenu un certain nombre de résultats. Mais les nouveaux points de vue théoriques affirment que les inégalités raciales inhérentes aux structures de l’apartheid persistent et qu’une réforme structurelle est indispensable. Les positions opposées se traduisent par deux visions de la transition sociale : d’un côté le capitalisme peut être déracialisé, de l’autre le capitalisme sud-africain doit être démantelé pour être déracialisé. Après un examen de la documentation afférente et des documents officiels, l’auteure identifie cinq obstacles structurels et pédagogiques comme les causes probables des faibles taux d’achèvement obtenus par les cours de développement des compétences; elle conclut que pour réussir cette réforme structurelle, des conditions politiques et économiques plus favorables sont nécessaires.

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Notes

  1. The word “structural” in the term structural racial inequality refers to the idea that racial inequality was etched into all apartheid political and economic structures.

  2. In this article I use “post-apartheid capitalism” for easy reference to “capitalism in a post-apartheid society”.

  3. S. J. Terreblanche is among the analysts who have used both “representative democracy” and “liberal democratic capitalism” to characterise South Africa’s democracy. The differences and similarities between these terms are not always clear. For the purposes of the discussion here, I have not attempted to delve into, or derive, the author’s understandings of these different characterisations, but worked within his general assertion that through the 1994 election, democratic institutions, policies and procedures have been established.

  4. Thabo Mbeki declared his “two nations thesis” in his address to the National Council of Provinces on 11 November 2003, arguing that South Africa was characterised by two parallel economies, the First and the Second. He described these as follows, “The First Economy is modern, produces the bulk of our country’s wealth, and is integrated within the global economy. The Second Economy (or the Marginalised Economy) is characterised by underdevelopment, contributes little to the GDP, contains a big percentage of our population […] and is incapable of self-generated growth and development” (Mbeki 2003).

  5. The Basic Income Grant (BIG) is a form of social assistance paid by the government to all vulnerable South Africans. For further information, see DSD (2002).

  6. “The Department of Manpower (DoM) was supposedly in charge of co-ordinating all matters relating to the training of workers in the private sector. However, there were separate manpower departments in each of the nominally independent homelands. In addition, the administration of training for local authorities, the public sector and some parastatals were handled by these structures independently of the DoM” (Kraak 2004a, p. 51).

  7. The National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) was divided into two phases: NSDS I (2001–2005); NSDS II (2005–2010). In the meantime, NSDS III (2011–2016) has been implemented.

  8. Established in the Skills Development Act in 1998, the National Skills Fund (NSF) is is a fund located within the Department of Labour. The Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) are regional branches of a vocational skills training organisation in South Africa, responsible for managing and creating learnerships, internships, unit-based skills programmes, and apprenticeships within their jurisdiction.

  9. Learnerships, discussed in more detail later on in this paper, are fixed-term legal contracts between a learner, an employer and a training provider. The scheme of learnerships (2001–2005) was followed by the scheme of learning programmes (2005–2007) which include structured learning programmes, learnerships, apprenticeships and skills programmes.

  10. The five objectives of the National Skills Development Strategy II (2005–2010) referred to here are (1) Prioritising and communicating critical skills for sustainable growth, development and equity; (2) Promoting and accelerating quality training for all in the workplace; (3) Promoting employability and sustainable livelihoods through skills development; (4) Assisting designated groups, including new entrants to participate in accredited work, integrated learning and work-based programmes to acquire critical skills to enter the labour market and self-employment; and (5) Improving the quality and relevance of provision. These have been modified and changed from the objectives of the National Skills Development Strategy I (2001–2005).

  11. AET stands for Adult Education and Training.

  12. Shoprite and Checkers are South Africa’s two biggest food retailers.

  13. In the third quarter of 2013 Statistics South Africa established the unemployment rate at 24.7 per cent of a total population of 51.8 million according to the Population Census 2011. See http://beta2.statssa.gov.za/, accessed 15 January 2014.

  14. The Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGI-SA) was implemented by the South African government in 2006 to address the second economy as identified by then-President Mbeki in 2003. See footnote 4 for further explanation.

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  1. Centre for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE), University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville, 7535, South Africa

    Zelda Groener

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Groener, Z. Skills development and structural change: Possibilities for and limitations of redressing structural racial inequalities in South Africa. Int Rev Educ 59, 723–749 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-014-9399-z

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