Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.The transition to more just and sustainable development requires radical change across a wide range of areas and particularly within the nexus between learning and work.This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training that goes beyond the narrow focus of much of the current literature and policy debate. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this issue through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups, and in public and private educational institutions.Offering new insights and ways of thinking about this field, the book draws out clear implications for theory, policy and practice in Africa and beyond.

1. Introducing VET Africa 4.0 - Heila Lotz-Sisitka and Simon McGrath2. VET and Skills in Africa: A Historical Sociology - Simon McGrath3. Water, Transport, Oil and Food: A Political–Economy–Ecology Lens on Changing Conceptions of Work, Learning and Skills Development in Africa - Heila Lotz-Sisitka4. Towards an Expanded Notion of Skills Ecosystems - Presha Ramsarup and Jo-Anna Russon5. Social Ecosystem for Skills Research: Inclusivity, Relationality and Informality - Luke Metelerkamp and David Monk6. Vocational Teachers as Mediators in Complex Ecosystems - Jo-Anna Russon and Volker Wedekind7. Challenges in Transition Processes - Presha Ramsarup and Jo-Anna Russon8. The Role of the University as Mediator in a Skills Ecosystem Approach to VET - Heila Lotz-Sisitka, George Openjuru and Jacques Zeelen9. Implications for VET Research, Policy and Practice - Simon McGrathAfterword: Towards a More Just and Sustainable Research Practice - VET Africa 4.0 Collective