Research to support technical and vocational skills development partners. Future Outlook in West Africa, South Africa and Latin America

FRANÇOIS-JOSEPH AZOH; FRÉDÉRIQUE WEYER; VERONICA MILLENAAR

Simposio; Trienalle de la Association pour le Développment de l'Éducation en Afrique; 2012

A renewed interest in technical and vocational skills development (TVSD) is currently being seen on the part of numerous development partners. This interest mirrors a shift in perspective along the lines put forward by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa at its last Triennale (held in February 2012). This shift involves moving away from technical and vocational education and training and towards TVSD. It leads to a broader vision of training to include skills developed outside the formal training system, and particularly those acquired through on‐the‐job training, non‐formal programmes and family‐based learning. Before efficient socio‐economic development policies can be set out and implemented for both urban and rural areas, however, reliable data and analysis must be available. A study carried out by a team of researchers based in three West African countries, South Africa, Argentina and Switzerland presents a critical analysis of existing TVSD research and looks at ways for future work to marry scientific rigour with decision‐making on the part of development stakeholders.