La recherche sur les compétences techniques et professionnelles

• Version originale en français •

Triennale de l’éducation et formation en Afrique (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 12-‐17 février 2012)

Promouvoir les connaissances, compétences et qualifications critiques pour le développement durable de l’Afrique : Comment concevoir et édifier une réponse

efficace des systèmes d’éducation et de formation

La recherche sur les compétences techniques et professionnelles permettant l’insertion — Etat des lieux, contraintes et perspectives dans trois pays de l’Afrique de

l’Ouest (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire et Ghana)

François-Joseph AZOH (ROCARE, Côte d’Ivoire) Frédérique WEYER (NORRAG, Suisse)

Michel CARTON (NORRAG, Suisse)

Document de travail en cours d’élaboration NE PAS DIFFUSER

DOC 2.4.05

Sous-thème 2 Développement des compétences techniques et professionnelles tout au long de la vie pour une croissance

socio-‐économique durable de l'Afrique

Triennale de l’éducation et de la formation en Afrique de l’ADEA 2012 -‐ La recherche sur les compétences techniques et professionnelles permettant l’insertion : état des lieux, contraintes et perspectives

Sous-‐thème 2 : Développement des compétences techniques et professionnelles tout au long de la vie pour une croissance socio-‐économique durable de l'Afrique -‐ 1/106 -‐

Ce document a été préparé pour la Triennale de l’ADEA (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2012). Les points de vue et les opinions exprimés dans ce document sont ceux de(s) (l’)auteur(s) et ne doivent pas être attribués à l’ADEA, à ses membres, aux organisations qui lui sont affiliées ou à toute personne agissant au nom de l’ADEA. Le document est un document de travail en cours d’élaboration. Il a été préparé pour servir de base aux discussions de la biennale de l’ADEA et ne doit en aucun cas être diffusé dans son état actuel et à d’autres fins.

© Association pour le développement de l’éducation en Afrique (ADEA) – 2012

Association pour le développement de l’éducation en Afrique (ADEA) Banque africaine de développement (BAD)

Agence temporaire de relocalisation (ATR) 13, avenue du Ghana

P.O. BP 323 1002 Tunis Belvédère

Tunisie Tel: + 216/ 71 10 39 86 Fax: + 216/ 71 25 26 69

[email protected]



Ce document a été préparé pour la Triennale de l’ADEA (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2012). Les points de vue et les opinions exprimés dans ce document sont ceux de(s) l’auteur(s) et ne doivent pas être attribués à l’ADEA, à ses membres, aux organisations qui lui sont affiliées ou à toute personne agissant au nom de l’ADEA. Le document est un document de travail en cours d’élaboration. Il a été préparé pour servir de base aux discussions de la Triennale de l’ADEA et ne doit en aucun cas être diffusé dans son état actuel et à d’autres fins.

© Association pour le développement de l’éducation en Afrique (ADEA) – 2011

Association pour le développement de l’éducation en Afrique (ADEA) Banque africaine de développement (BAD) Agence temporaire de relocalisation (ATR)

13, avenue du Ghana P.O. BP 323

1002 Tunis Belvédère Tunisie

Tel: + 216/ 71 10 39 86 Fax: + 216/ 71 25 26 69

[email protected]





TABLE DES MATIERES LISTE DES FIGURES ............................................................................................................. 4

REMERCIEMENTS................................................................................................................. 6

LISTE D’ACRONYMES ET ABREVIATIONS...................................................................... 7

1. ABREGE............................................................................................................................. 9

2. RESUME .......................................................................................................................... 10

3. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 12

4. METHODOLOGIE .......................................................................................................... 16

4.1 Sites de l’étude......................................................................................................................... 16

4.2 Population et échantillon........................................................................................................ 16

4.3 Techniques et instruments de collecte des données ............................................................. 16

4.4 Méthodes d’analyse des données collectées .......................................................................... 17

5. INVENTAIRE DES RECHERCHES CONDUITES SUR LE DCTP AU COURS DES 20 DERNIERES ANNEES..................................................................................................... 19

5.1 Acteurs de la recherche .......................................................................................................... 19

5.2 Conditions de production de la recherche............................................................................ 20

5.3 Thèmes traités par la recherche sur le DCTP...................................................................... 20

5.4 Approches de la recherche sur le DCTP............................................................................... 22

5.5 Evolution de la recherche au cours des 20 dernières années .............................................. 24

6. ATTENTES, BESOINS ET DEMANDES EN TERMES DE RECHERCHE.............. 26

7. PROPOSITIONS PRIORITAIRES REALISTES POUR LES RECHERCHES A MENER DANS LE CHAMP DU DCTP ET CONDITIONS REQUISES ........................... 27

8. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................. 31

9. BIBLIOGRAPHIE ........................................................................................................... 33

10. ANNEXES ...................................................................................................................... 34

LISTE DES FIGURES

Tableau 3-1 : Répartition des données démographiques selon les pays _______________ 12

Tableau 3-2 : Répartition des classements selon le pays pour trois années sur 177 pays classés ___________________________________________________________________ 12



Tableau 3-3 : Répartition des effectifs dans le secondaire inférieur (Junior High School) pour les secteurs public et privé au Ghana (2003-2010) ___________________________ 13

Graphique 5.1 : Répartition des acteurs de la recherche en Côte d’Ivoire _____________ 19

Graphique 5.2 : Conditions de production de la recherche en Côte d’Ivoire ___________ 20

Tableau 5-3 : Répartition des études recensées selon le thème de 1990 à 2010 au Burkina Faso_____________________________________________________________________ 21

Graphique 5-4 : Répartition des thèmes de recherche selon les acteurs de production en Côte d’Ivoire ______________________________________________________________ 21

Graphique 5-5 : Les approches disciplinaires dans la recherche sur le DCTP en Côte d’Ivoire __________________________________________________________________ 22

Graphique 5-6 : Répartition des approches de recherche selon les acteurs en Côte d’Ivoire_________________________________________________________________________ 23

Tableau 5-7 : Evolution de la production des études par quinquennat de 1990 à 2010 au Burkina Faso _____________________________________________________________ 24

Graphique 5-8 : Evolution thématique de la recherche en Côte d’Ivoire ______________ 24

Tableau 7-1 : Répartition des propositions prioritaires de recherche au Burkina Faso___ 27

Tableau 7-2 : Répartition des propositions prioritaires de recherche au Ghana ________ 28

Tableau 7-3 : Répartition des propositions prioritaires de recherche en Côte d’Ivoire ___ 29



REMERCIEMENTS L’équipe de coordination de la présente étude adresse ses sincères remerciements à :

Association pour le Développement de l’Education en Afrique (ADEA) pour sa confiance et son implication pour l’aboutissement de ce travail ;

Coopération Suisse pour son appui technique et financier ; Equipes de recherche du Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire et Ghana, ainsi que de l’Amérique

Latine et l’Afrique du Sud ; Ministères, acteurs et institutions nationales publiques et privées d’éducation et de formation

du Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire et Ghana ; Institutions internationales et partenaires au développement du secteur de la formation et de

l’insertion professionnelles ; Personnes ressources qui ont contribué à la collecte des informations.



LISTE D’ACRONYMES ET ABREVIATIONS ABGRH Association Burkinabé de Gestionnaires des Ressources Humaines

AFD Agence Française de Développement AGEPE Agence d'Etude et de Promotion de l'Emploi ANPE Agence Nationale Pour l’Emploi APNEF Association pour la Promotion de l’Education Non Formelle BAC Baccalauréat BECE Basic Education Certificate Examination BEP Brevet d’Etudes Professionnelles BEPC Brevet d’Etude du Premier Cycle BIT Bureau International du travail

BT Brevet de Technicien BTS Brevet de Technicien Supérieur CAP Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle

CBL Competency Based Learning CBT Competency Based Training

CCI Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie CEBNF Centre d’Education de Base Non Formelle

CEPE Certificat d’Etude Primaire Elémentaire CERFODES Centre d'Etudes, de Recherches et de Formation pour le Développement

Economique et Social CGTB Confédération Générale du Travail du Burkina

COTVET Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training

CPAF Centre Permanent d’Alphabétisation Fonctionnelle DCTP Développement des Compétences Techniques et Professionnelles

DFP Direction de la Formation Professionnelle EFA Education for All ENAM Ecole Nationale d’Administration et de Magistrature

ENAREF Ecole Nationale des Régies Financières

ENEP Ecole Nationale des Enseignements du Primaire ENS Ecole Normale Supérieure ENSK Ecole Normale Supérieure de Koudougou

ENSP Ecole Nationale de Santé Publique ETFP Enseignement Technique et Formation Professionnelle FAFPA Fonds d’Appui à la Formation Professionnelle et à l’Apprentissage FDFP Fonds de Développement de la Formation Professionnelle

GES Ghana Education Service GIZ Coopération Allemande au Développement

ICCES Integrated Community Centres for Employable Skills IPNETP Institut Pédagogique National de l’Enseignement Technique et Professionnel

ISIG Institut des Sciences de l’Informatique et de Gestion



JERARE Journal of Educational Research in Africa/Revue Africaine de Recherche en Education

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency MATDS Ministère de l’Administration Territoriale, de la Décentralisation et de la Sécurité MEBF Maison de l’Entreprise du Burkina Faso MENA Ministère de l’Education Nationale et de l’Alphabétisation

MESRS Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique MESS Ministère des Enseignements Secondaire et Supérieur

MESSRS Ministère des Enseignements Secondaire et Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique

METFP Ministère de l’Enseignement Technique et de la Formation Professionnelle

MJEFP Ministère de la Jeunesse, de la Formation Professionnelle et de l’Emploi

MoESS Ministry of Education, Science and Sports MoMYE Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment

NACVET National Coordinating Committee on Technical and Vocational Education and Training

NTVETQF National TVET Qualifications Framework

NVTI National Vocational Training Institute

OIC Opportunities Industrialization Centre

ONEF Observatoire National de l’Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle PAS Programme d’Ajustement Structurel

PESPR Preliminary Education Sector Performance Report

PNE Politique Nationale de l’Emploi

PNEFTP Politique Nationale de l’Enseignement et de la Formation Techniques et Professionnels

PNUD Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement

PTF Partenaires Techniques et Financiers PTI Private Training Institutions

ROCARE Réseau Ouest et Centre Africain de Recherche en Education SP/ CNC - PF Secrétariat Permanent de la Commission Nationale de la Certification et des

Programmes de Formation TVE Technical and Vocational Education TVEP Technical & Vocational Education Program

TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training WAEC West African Examinations Council

WASSCE West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination

WTE West African Examinations Council Technical Examination



1. ABREGE 1. Le sous-thème 2 qui aborde le "Développement des compétences techniques et professionnelles

tout au long de la vie pour une croissance socio-économique durable de l'Afrique" (DCTP) constitue un creuset pertinent permettant d’insérer la question de la place de la recherche dans les réflexions sur le DCTP. Aussi, l’approche du DCTP par la recherche nous est-elle apparue comme une voie d’éclairage de ce champ en conduisant une étude sur "la recherche sur les compétences techniques et professionnelles permettant l’insertion : état des lieux, contraintes et perspectives dans trois pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest". En effet, on assiste en Afrique à un regain d’intérêt pour la question du DCTP. L’existence de données et d’analyses fiables sur ce thème représente un préalable indispensable à la définition et à la mise en œuvre de politiques qui puissent contribuer de manière efficace à l’insertion des jeunes, en milieu rural comme en milieu urbain. Par ailleurs, la recherche sur le DCTP en lien avec l’insertion professionnelle présente un enjeu majeur dans des contextes socioéconomiques où les données présentent des taux de croissance élevés au niveau de la démographie, de la population et du chômage des jeunes.

2. Ce rapport se fonde sur trois études de cas menées au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana.

Deux études similaires ont été réalisées en Afrique du Sud et en Amérique Latine (Brésil, Chili, Colombie, Mexique et Uruguay). En outre, un document de référence analyse le contexte ouest africain de la recherche en éducation dans le cadre des sciences sociales dans lequel s’insère la recherche sur le DCTP.

3. Le présent rapport est structuré autour des trois objectifs principaux de cette contribution à la

Triennale de l’ADEA :

- Etablir un inventaire des recherches relatives au DCTP menées au cours des 20 dernières années au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana ;

- Identifier les attentes, besoins et demandes en termes de recherche sur le DCTP exprimés par les institutions de formation ;

- Elaborer des propositions prioritaires et réalistes pour les recherches à mener dans le champ du DCTP.



2. RESUME 4. Le sous-thème 2 qui aborde le "Développement des compétences techniques et professionnelles

tout au long de la vie pour une croissance socio-économique durable de l'Afrique" (DCTP) constitue un creuset pertinent permettant d’insérer la question de la place de la recherche dans les réflexions sur le DCTP. Aussi, l’approche du DCTP par la recherche nous est-elle apparue comme une voie d’éclairage de ce champ en conduisant une étude sur "la recherche sur les compétences techniques et professionnelles permettant l’insertion : état des lieux, contraintes et perspectives dans trois pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest".

5. En effet, on assiste en Afrique à un regain d’intérêt pour la question du DCTP. L’existence de

données et d’analyses fiables sur ce thème représente un préalable indispensable à la définition et à la mise en œuvre de politiques qui puissent contribuer de manière efficace à l’insertion des jeunes, en milieu rural comme en milieu urbain. Par ailleurs, la recherche sur le DCTP en lien avec l’insertion professionnelle présente un enjeu majeur dans des contextes socioéconomiques où les données présentent des taux de croissance élevés au niveau de la démographie, de la population et du chômage des jeunes.

6. Il s’agit de jeter les bases d’un renouveau de la recherche dans ces domaines, qui tienne compte

aussi bien des problèmes rencontrés par la recherche en sciences sociales en général que des attentes, besoins et demandes que recommencent à exprimer les acteurs sociaux publics et privés pour leur permettre de prendre des décisions mieux ancrées dans la réalité.

7. De façon plus spécifique, l’étude se structure autour de :

- L’inventaire des recherches relatives au DCTP menées au cours des 20 dernières années au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana ;

- La détermination des attentes, besoins et demandes en termes de recherche sur le DCTP exprimés par les acteurs du champ;

- L’élaboration de propositions prioritaires et réalistes pour les recherches à mener.

8. Ce rapport se fonde sur trois études de cas menées au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana. Les documents de base exploités pour cette étude sont constitués de productions académiques nationales, d’études réalisées par des organismes nationaux et internationaux, privés ou publics. Plus de 400 documents constituent la base pour l’analyse rétrospective, diagnostique et critique du DCTP dans ces trois espaces. De plus, des entretiens ont été réalisés avec différents acteurs du DCTP :

- Décideurs de la politique éducative nationale : ministères, organismes de gestion de la

formation technique et professionnelle ; - Institutions universitaires, centres de recherche et institutions de financement des études

relatives à l’éducation ; - Partenaires au développement (publics et privés) dans le domaine de l’éducation et de la

formation : partenaires au développement, ONG ; - Acteurs de mise en œuvre de la politique éducative : gestionnaires des établissements de

formation, enseignants, apprenants ; - Acteurs et bénéficiaires de la politique éducative : chambre de commerce, d’industrie et

d’agriculture, chambre des métiers, organisations patronales, associations professionnelles. 9. Deux études similaires ont été réalisées en Afrique du Sud et en Amérique Latine (Brésil, Chili,

Colombie, Mexique et Uruguay). En outre, un document de référence analyse le contexte ouest



africain de la recherche en éducation dans le cadre des sciences sociales dans lequel s’insère la recherche sur le DCTP.

10. Les résultats de l’étude permettent de faire les constats majeurs suivants :

- La recherche commanditée – par les institutions de l’Etat, par les organisations internationales et par les agences de coopération bilatérale – domine nettement la production dans le champ du DCTP La recherche de type scientifique est encore négligeable dans l’ensemble des productions examinées ;

- Les cabinets d’études et les consultants sont les principaux producteurs de la recherche dans le champ du DCTP en Afrique de l’ouest ;

- Les acteurs académiques sont minoritaires, ce qui confirme l’hypothèse de désinstitutionalisation de la recherche observée de manière générale dans le domaine des sciences sociales dans la région ;

- Les thèmes les plus abordés par la recherche dans le champ du DCTP sont ceux qui sont directement en lien avec les politiques et les programmes mis en œuvre par les commanditaires. L’approche qui domine est celle de la macroéconomie.

11. Il existe un décalage entre les recherches disponibles et les demandes et attentes prioritaires des

acteurs du DCTP. Ces demandes et attentes concernent :

- La gestion institutionnelle : financement, planification, développement régional de la formation, gouvernance ;

- L’analyse des demandes fondée sur la connaissance des activités productives et des besoins du marché du travail ;

- Une meilleure compréhension du secteur informel et de l’agriculture ; - Le développement de curricula mieux adaptés au contexte ; - L’insertion professionnelle des diplômés.

12. Comme dans ces trois pays, la recherche commanditée et l’approche macroéconomique est

prépondérante en Afrique du Sud et en Amérique Latine. Toutefois, les productions académiques sont plus nombreuses, ce qui permet de mettre en évidence leurs avantages par rapport aux autres types de recherche :

- Analyse des multiples dimensions du DCTP ; - Utilisation plus fréquente d’une démarche qualitative, qui, en mettant les acteurs et leurs

pratiques au centre, permet de comprendre comment les programmes et les politiques sont mis en œuvre, leurs effets sur les bénéficiaires et comment ils sont réappropriés ;

- Analyse de secteurs trop souvent négligés comme le secteur informel et l’agriculture ; - Analyse critique des présupposés sur lesquels se fondent les politiques et programmes, ce qui

contribue à leur renouvellement ;

13. En outre, l’existence d’une communauté de chercheurs stable et capable de se renouveler a un rôle à jouer dans l’appropriation des discours et politiques internationaux en participant à leur production et en les adaptant au contexte national.



3. INTRODUCTION 14. Cette étude a pour objet la recherche dans le champ du DCTP. Le présent rapport se fonde sur

trois études de cas réalisées au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana. De plus deux études similaires ont été réalisées en Amérique Latine et en Afrique du Sud, auxquelles s’ajoute une analyse du contexte ouest africain de la recherche en éducation. Les six documents se trouvent en annexe de ce rapport.

15. Le Burkina Faso, la Côte d’Ivoire et le Ghana se situent en Afrique de l’Ouest et se caractérisent

par une proximité géographique du fait de frontières communes. Toutefois, ils se distinguent par une particularité linguistique : le Ghana est anglophone alors que le Burkina Faso et la Côte d’Ivoire sont francophones.

16. Dans ces trois pays, le taux moyen de croissance démographique annuelle se situe autour de 2,8%

avec une proportion élevée de personnes de moins de 15 ans (tableau 3.1). Une part importante de la population vit en zone rurale, en particulier au Burkina Faso où elle atteignait plus de 80% en 2004.

Tableau 3-1 : Répartition des données démographiques selon les pays

Population totale (en millions)

Population urbaine (en % du total)

Population des moins de 15 ans (en % du total)

Pays 1975 2004 2015 1975 2004 2015 2004 2015 Burkina Faso 5,9 12,8 17,7 6,4 17,9 22,8 47,4 45,7 Côte d’Ivoire 6,6 17,9 21,6 32,2 44,6 49,8 42,1 38,2 Ghana 10,2 21,7 26,6 30,1 47,1 55,1 39,5 35,2 Source : Rapport mondial sur le développement humain, PNUD, 2006, 2009 17. Le niveau de développement traduit par l’Indice composite de Développement Humain (IDH) du

Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD) conduit à classer le Ghana parmi les pays à développement humain moyen. Le Burkina Faso et la Côte d’Ivoire sont considérés comme des pays à faible niveau de développement humain (tableau 3.2). En Côte d’Ivoire, les conditions de vie des ménages se dégradent avec un taux de pauvreté en augmentation qui est passé de 33,6% en 1998 à 48,9% en 2008. Ce sont les jeunes et les femmes qui sont les plus touchés.

Tableau 3-2 : Répartition des classements selon le pays pour trois années sur 177 pays classés

Pays 2004 2006 2009 Changement dans le classement entre 2006-2009 Burkina Faso 174 176 177 -1 Côte d’Ivoire 164 163 163 0 Ghana 136 154 152 +2 Source : Rapport mondial sur le développement humain, PNUD, 2006, 2009 18. Les Etats de ces pays ont réalisé de nombreux efforts d’investissements pour accroître la

scolarisation et l’alphabétisation. En effet, de 1991 à 2006, le taux net de scolarisation dans le primaire a évolué de 29 à 45% au Burkina Faso, de 45 à 62% en Côte d’Ivoire et de 54 à 75% au Ghana. Toutefois, les niveaux atteints pour ce niveau d’éducation sont encore loin des objectifs de l’EPT. Pour l’enseignement secondaire (tous programmes confondus), les taux bruts de scolarisation sont aussi en progression : de 14 à 29 % au Burkina Faso de 2000 à 2010, de 29 à 32,4% en Côte d’Ivoire de 2000 à 2007 et de 60 à 78% au Ghana de 2000 à 2009.



19. Tous les efforts ont été amoindris par la crise économique des années 1980 liée aux Programmes d’ajustement structurel, la crise sociale de 1990 et aux incertitudes climatiques des années 2000, qui ont fragilisé à la fois le système éducatif et le dynamisme de développement de l’économie nationale de ces pays. En Côte d’Ivoire, à cela s’ajoutent les crises socio-politiques qui depuis 2002 ont fortement affecté l’économie et l’emploi.

20. Au Burkina Faso et en Côte d’Ivoire, l’offre de formation relève plus de l’initiative privée et la

contribution du secteur public demeure encore faible : 73% contre 27% au Burkina Faso par exemple. Cette offre est aussi faible en Côte d’Ivoire où le dispositif public de l’ETFP ne favorise pas l’accès puisqu’il ne propose que 69 000 places pour 478 964 potentiels demandeurs, soit un rapport de 1 à 6. Cette faible capacité d’accueil est associée à un budget de fonctionnement insuffisant, malgré les efforts de l’Etat. En effet, les budgets de l’ETFP en 2006 au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana sont respectivement de 8%, 6% et 4% du budget global de l’éducation (ISU, 2007).

21. La demande de formation adressée à ce secteur en 2006 – 2007 demeure très forte (DPS/METFP,

2008) en Côte d’Ivoire et se compose de quatre groupes de population : (i) 251.152 jeunes (54%) n’ayant pas achevé le niveau primaire ; (ii) 106.973 jeunes, composé de 55.812 jeunes (26,08%) qui abandonnent après avoir achevé le primaire et de 51.161 (32,35%) qui abandonnent en cours du secondaire général niveau 1. (iii) 50.840 dont 14.755 jeunes (13,79%) qui abandonnent après avoir achevé le secondaire général niveau 1 et de 36.085 jeunes (39,13%) qui abandonnent en cours de secondaire général niveau 2 ; (iv) 50.000 ex-combattants et 20.000 ex-miliciens issus de la crise survenue en 2002 (Schuh, Koné et Tano, 2010). Ces deux derniers chiffres ont pu évoluer avec la crise postélectorale de 2011.

22. En revanche, dans le cas du Ghana, on peut constater que pour le niveau du secondaire inférieur

(Junior High School), où l’on trouve à la fois une filière générale et une filière d’enseignement technique et professionnel, une majorité de l’effectif est scolarisée dans l’offre publique (Tableau 3.3). Par ailleurs, cette offre connaît une progression constante même si elle ne répond pas à la demande du marché du travail.

Tableau 3-3 : Répartition des effectifs dans le secondaire inférieur (Junior High School) pour les secteurs public et privé au Ghana (2003-2010) Indicators/ Year 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/06 2008/09 2009/10 Enrolment Total 919,334 1,010,246 1,041,002 1,132,318 1,132,318 1,285,577 1,301,940 Enrolment Public 773,982 822,205 883,060 952,151 952,151 1,064,088 1,075,036 Enrolment Private 145,352 188,041 157,942 180,167 180,167 221,489 226,906 Source : Republic of Ghana, 2011 23. Les trois pays de l’étude ont connu de nombreuses réformes visant une amélioration de la qualité

et une augmentation de la quantité de l’offre de formation sans toutefois parvenir à améliorer l’insertion professionnelle des jeunes dont l’effectif est considérable. Le seuil critique de 20% de chômage déterminé par Schuh et al. (2010) est atteint au Ghana. En Côte d’Ivoire, le taux de chômage pour différents diplômés se situe au-dessus de ce seuil critique : BEP (53%), BTS (42%), BAC (27%), Maîtrise (25%) et CEPE (22%). Le taux de chômage est en dessous du seuil critique pour les diplômés de niveau Licence (19%), BEPC (16%), BT (13%) et CAP (13%).

24. De tels taux de chômage pourraient s’expliquer par deux facteurs au moins : (i) l’inadaptation des

profils de formation aux besoins des entreprises en personnels qualifiés ; (ii) l’orientation du système éducatif vers la formation des cadres pendant que le secteur productif est plus demandeur d’ouvriers spécialisés et d’employés titulaires du CAP et du BT. En effet, le monde actuel de l’économie s’accorde sur le principe que le travail qualifié est un facteur de production indispensable au développement de toute société. Aussi, le développement d’un capital humain de



qualité apparaît-il comme une préoccupation majeure pour les décideurs de la politique éducative, les milieux économiques et les producteurs eux-mêmes.

25. Ainsi, en Côte d’Ivoire, les politiques d’éducation-formation sont marquées par une incohérence

qui ne permet pas d’atteindre les objectifs d’insertion fixés dans les différents plans de développement du secteur de la formation professionnelle: (i) filières et programmes de formation inadaptés aux besoins de l’économie; (ii) équipements pédagogiques et techniques obsolètes et inadaptés; (iii) dispositifs de formation vieillissant, de faible capacité et inégalement répartis; (iv) effectifs insuffisants et inégalement répartis par genre et par filière (Schuh et al., 2010).

26. On assiste en Afrique à un regain d’intérêt pour la question du DCTP. Au niveau international et

régional, de nombreuses organisations comme la CNUCED, le BIT, le FIDA, la Banque mondiale, le G 20, l’Union Africaine et la Banque Africaine de Développement soulignent l’importance de ce champ. Au niveau national, de nombreux pays africains ont récemment mis en place des politiques visant à élargir l’accès à la formation et à en améliorer la qualité.

27. Dans le cadre de la Triennale de l’ADEA, on observe un changement de perspective, qui va de

l’enseignement et la formation techniques et professionnels (EFTP) vers le DCTP. Il s’agit d’une vision plus large de la formation, qui inclut les savoirs développés en dehors du système formel de formation, notamment dans le cadre de la formation dans le cadre de l’entreprise, les programmes non formels et l’apprentissage familial.

28. L’existence de données et d’analyses fiables sur le thème du DCTP représente néanmoins un

préalable indispensable à la définition et à la mise en œuvre de politiques qui puissent contribuer de manière efficace à l’insertion des jeunes, en milieu rural comme en milieu urbain. Dans le contexte décrit ci-dessus, qu’en est-il de la recherche sur le DCTP ? Comment la recherche dans ce domaine peut-elle aider à la décision politique ? Comment peut-elle contribuer à l’insertion ?

29. D’une manière générale, la recherche est un secteur financièrement sinistré en Afrique : la

conférence de Lagos (1980) recommandait aux Etats de consacrer 1% du PIB à la recherche mais on constate que ce taux n’a jamais été atteint car très peu de moyens publics sont alloués aux activités de recherche (0,05% du PIB en Côte d’Ivoire en 2010). Les moyens mis à la disposition de ce secteur profitent majoritairement à la recherche agricole, dans le but d’assurer la sécurité alimentaire, et à la santé. Les autres secteurs de la recherche, en particulier en sciences sociales, sont ainsi délaissés et les centres et instituts de recherche des universités publiques n’arrivent pas à fonctionner normalement. Il n’y a quasiment pas de fonds de valorisation et de promotion des chercheurs, surtout des jeunes. La recherche est par conséquent un secteur très peu attractif.

30. La recherche dans le champ de l’éducation et de la formation (publique, privée, nationale,

régionale) s’est mise en place dans les années 60 dans le cadre des nouvelles universités. Elle a ensuite, suivant en cela le déclin plus général de la recherche en sciences sociales, tenté de s’adapter aux demandes formulées par les acteurs de la coopération internationale, moteurs des évolutions des politiques éducatives mentionnées ci-dessus. Au milieu des années 1990, la recherche en éducation était considérée comme « négligée et sous-estimée » (ROCARE, 1997). La consultation et la recherche individuelle ont ainsi pris le pas sur la recherche ancrée dans des institutions, reflétant donc insuffisamment les priorités nationales ou régionales. La mise en place de réseaux a été une réponse, qui souffre cependant des faiblesses découlant de la situation précédente

31. Dans ce contexte, il s’agit pour cette étude de :

- Faire une rétrospective de la recherche en éducation depuis les 20 dernières années, en général et plus spécifiquement par rapport à la formation et au DCTP,

- Analyser ses produits, ses succès, ses limites et ses potentiels face aux besoins et demandes de recherche liées au DCTP,



- Proposer des scénarios permettant son renforcement afin de fournir aux décideurs les données et analyses les aidant à fonder des décisions ayant des chances d’être durables.

32. Les objectifs opérationnels se déclinent de la manière suivante :

- Inventorier les recherches relatives au DCTP menées au cours des 20 dernières années au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana ;

- Identifier les attentes, besoins et demandes en termes de recherche sur le DCTP exprimés par les différents acteurs œuvrant dans ce champ ;

- Elaborer des propositions prioritaires et réalistes pour les recherches à mener, également alimentées par un document de référence sur les questions cruciales qui se posent aujourd’hui en Afrique de l’Ouest à la recherche sur le DCTP aux plans sous-régional et continental, en relation avec les tendances internationales, ainsi que par l’analyse d’expériences porteuses sur ce thème en Afrique du Sud et en Amérique Latine.



4. METHODOLOGIE 33. Cette partie s’articule autour des sites de collecte des données, de la population enquêtée, des

techniques et instruments de collecte des données ainsi que des méthodes d’analyse des informations recueillies dans le cadre des études de cas réalisées au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana.

4.1 Sites de l’é tude 34. L’étude est réalisée principalement dans les capitales où se concentrent près de 75% des structures

de décision et les institutions de formation et de recherche :

- Ministères et Partenaires au développement (publics et privés) intervenant dans le domaine de l’éducation et de la formation ;

- Institutions de formation et d’enseignement relevant du cadre formel ; - Centres de perfectionnement et de formation professionnelle des travailleurs des entreprises

locales ; - Centres de recherche et institutions qui financent des études relatives à l’éducation et à la

formation professionnelle.

4.2 Population et échantillon 35. La population enquêtée est composée de :

- Décideurs de la politique éducative nationale ; il s’agit des inspecteurs et directeurs d’administration centrale des différents ministères en charge de l’éducation et de la formation ;

- Partenaires (publics et privés) au développement dans le domaine de l’éducation et de la formation. Il s’agit de la Banque Mondiale, du GTZ (GIZ), du BIT, du PNUD, de l’AFD, des agences nationales pour la formation et l’emploi, des ONG1 ;

- Centres et institutions de recherche ; - Bénéficiaires de la politique éducative et offreurs de formation ; il s’agit du patronat

« moderne », des Chambres de Commerce et d’Industrie, des Chambres des Métiers, des syndicats.

36. La technique d’échantillonnage par choix raisonné a été utilisée pour identifier les enquêtés. Elle a

permis de choisir les personnes indiquées, selon leur fonction et leur expérience, afin de recueillir des informations pertinentes et de qualité.

4.3 Techniques et instruments de collecte des données 5.3.1 La recherche documentaire 37. La recherche est fondée essentiellement sur les documents répertoriés, pour ces vingt dernières

années, dans les centres de documentation et d’information, notamment au niveau des 1 Notons qu’en Côte d’Ivoire la crise politique a affecté la collecte des données puisque certaines organisations

internationales comme le PNUD ont fermé temporairement leurs bureaux.



organisations d’appartenance des acteurs enquêtés. D’autres données documentaires ont été collectées auprès de personnes ressources enquêtées.

38. La recherche documentaire a consisté à collecter des thèses, mémoires, études et autres

publications réalisés par des chercheurs, des chargés d’études et autres administrateurs ou gestionnaires de l’éducation. Elle a permis de retenir un total de 307 documents répartis comme suit : 151 documents au Burkina Faso, 36 documents en Côte d’Ivoire et 120 documents au Ghana pour ces vingt dernières années (1990-2011).

5.3.2 Le guide d’entretien individuel 39. Après une première partie destinée à faire s’exprimer les enquêtés sur: (i) le lien entre politique de

développement socioéconomique et rôle des compétences techniques et professionnelles ; (ii) les besoins en compétences des entreprises et programmes de formation ; (iii) la formation initiale (dans les écoles, les universités et les grandes écoles) et formation en entreprise, le guide d’entretien vise à recueillir les connaissances des acteurs par rapport aux activités de recherche sur le DCTP et à analyser leurs attentes, besoins et demandes en termes de recherche sur le domaine.

4.4 Méthodes d’analyse des données collectées 40. L’étude examine les recherches produites et utilise l’analyse thématique de contenu des documents

recueillis et des réponses des enquêtés comme mode de traitement des données.

41. En ce qui concerne la recherche documentaire, les analyses s’articulent autour de six catégories d’acteurs : (i) Experts et consultants des organisations internationales ; (ii) Consultants individuels ou en équipe ; (iii) Universitaires; (iv) Administration publique ; (v) Cabinets d’études ; (vi) : Experts indépendants internationaux et nationaux.

42. En plus, un premier niveau d’analyse classe les études au regard de cinq thématiques :

- Formation continue ou formation en entreprise2 qui désigne les recherches portant sur l’identification des besoins en formation dans les entreprises ;

- Formation dans les activités informelles ; - Efficience, efficacité et impact de l’offre de formation ; - Insertion socio-professionnelle ; - Formation continue et formation dans les activités informelles (recherches transversales

portant sur la formation dans les entreprises modernes et celles évoluant dans le secteur informel).

43. A un second niveau, la recherche procède à une classification ex post des articles recensés en

fonction de trois domaines : (i) Socio-anthropologie ; (ii) Economie ; (iii) Education.

44. Enfin, l’examen des commanditaires permet de porter un regard critique quant à la nature des études et recherche ayant conduit à la production desdits articles. L’on distingue i) les recherches heuristiques; ii) les recherches en réseau; iii) les recherches suscitées ou stimulées.

45. L’analyse de contenu a permis de traiter chaque entretien pour retenir les données pertinentes en rapport avec les questions de recherche : qui produit la recherche ? Comment ? Dans quelles

2 Dans la présente étude, on utilise de façon interchangeable formation continue et formation en entreprise.



conditions ? Et avec quelle approche ? Elle a ainsi permis de faire des constats majeurs, des critiques et comparaisons, présenter des convergences et divergences.

46. Le traitement des entretiens a permis l’identification et la classification des besoins, attentes et demandes de recherches. A cet effet, six catégories ont été définies : (i) Qualité de la formation ; (ii) Réforme des curricula ; (iii) Gouvernance, institution, partenariat ; (iv) Connaissance du marché de l’emploi ; (v) Recherche participative ; (vi) Certification. Par la suite, l’analyse des préoccupations recueillies auprès des enquêtés a permis de dégager des axes prioritaires de recherches à mener.

47. Les propositions prioritaires et réalistes de recherche à mener ont été constituées à partir des questions prioritaires soulevées par les acteurs. L’analyse thématique a permis d’identifier les sujets de recherche possibles qui ont par la suite été regroupés en thèmes prioritaires.



5. INVENTAIRE DES RECHERCHES CONDUITES SUR LE DCTP AU COURS DES 20 DERNIERES ANNEES

48. L’inventaire des recherches conduites au cours des 20 dernières années, se structure autour des

thèmes suivants : acteurs, conditions de production, thèmes, approches et évolution. 5.1 Acteurs de la recherche 49. On distingue différentes catégories d’acteurs de recherche constituées d’experts internationaux, de

consultants nationaux, provenant des ministères ou de l’université, et de chercheurs autonomes. L’analyse des documents rassemblés montre que la recherche dans le domaine du DCTP est menée par des cabinets d’étude majoritairement commandités par les structures nationales de formation professionnelle continue. Suivent immédiatement les consultants individuels ou en équipe. Le graphique produit avec les données de la Côte d’Ivoire illustre la tendance rencontrée dans les autres pays.

Graphique 5.1 : Répartition des acteurs de la recherche en Côte d’Ivoire

Source : données de l’étude

50. La recherche académique s’intéresse très peu à la question du DCTP pour la période 1991-2011.

Au niveau universitaire, ce sont les travaux de fin de cycle (maîtrise et doctorat) produits dans l’interaction étudiants-enseignants qui favorisent la production en Côte d’Ivoire (9%) et au Burkina Faso (29%). La production d’articles scientifiques demeure très faible dans ces deux pays : seulement 4% des documents examinés au Burkina Faso et 0% en Côte d’Ivoire (Le DCTP n’apparaît pas dans la Revue Ivoirienne des Sciences de l’Education de l’ENS depuis une décennie, tout comme dans la Revue des Sciences et Technologie de l’IPNETP). Au niveau sous régional, la revue du ROCARE (JERARE) qui paraît depuis 2008 ne compte aucun article sur les préoccupations dans ce domaine. Notons toutefois que 10% des petites bourses de recherche accordées par le ROCARE au cours des cinq dernières années traitent des liens entre éducation et emploi.

51. Les études réalisées au Burkina, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana mettent en relief un phénomène de "désanctuarisation" de la recherche sur le DCTP qui est réalisée en dehors de l’université par des bureaux d’études recourant aux compétences des universitaires.

52. Comme dans ces trois pays, la recherche académique est minoritaire dans le champ du DCTP en Amérique Latine et en Afrique du Sud. Ce sont les études commanditées par les structures étatiques et internationales qui forment la plus large partie des études recensées. Notons toutefois



qu’en Afrique du Sud, la recherche sur le DCTP s’est fortement développée depuis 2003. En Amérique Latine, il existe des centres de recherches publics et privés, qui fonctionnent avec le soutien du système national de recherche académique et/ou des universités.

5.2 Conditions de production de la recherche 53. L’étude montre que dans les trois pays ouest africains enquêtés, la majorité des recherches est

suscitée (figure 6.2). Et dans la plupart des cas, ces travaux sont réalisés de façon fragmentaire et ne visent qu’à répondre à des préoccupations ponctuelles identifiées par les bailleurs de fonds en accord avec les gouvernements. Cette recherche provoquée est majoritairement financée par l’Etat, à travers les institutions nationales de la formation professionnelle continue, et les PTF (respectivement 53% et 28% des études recensées en Côte d’Ivoire). En Côte d’Ivoire, les principaux bailleurs de fonds internationaux actifs identifiés dans le domaine du DCTP sont, au niveau multilatéral, la Banque mondiale, la Banque africaine de développement, le BIT et, au niveau bilatéral, l’AFD et la coopération française, et la GTZ. Au Burkina Faso, ce sont, au niveau multilatéral, la Banque mondiale, le PNUD, le BIT et l’UNICEF, et, au niveau bilatéral, l’AFD et les agences de coopération autrichienne, suisse, luxembourgeoise, taïwanaise et danoise.

54. Le recrutement de l’expertise (bureaux ou cabinets d’étude ou encore consultants indépendants) obéit aux règles de passation de marché de prestation intellectuelle ou à la procédure du "gré à gré". Une des conséquences majeures de ces démarches touche la liberté des consultants qui n’est pas totale par rapport aux analyses produites. De plus l’examen des domaines de recherche démontre un conformisme avec les besoins des commanditaires. Aussi, les domaines révélés par la recherche procèdent-ils plus de l’aléa que d’une politique de recherche.

Graphique 5.2 : Conditions de production de la recherche en Côte d’Ivoire


5.3 Thèmes tra ités par la recherche sur le DCTP 55. Les trois études de cas réalisées en Afrique de l’Ouest montrent que les thèmes de recherche sont

centrés soit sur les questions de fonctionnement interne des systèmes scolaires de formation soit sur des tendances thématiques proposées au fil des ans par les partenaires au développement. Les thèmes sont également focalisés sur des études ponctuelles débouchant sur des projets n’ayant pas de rapport avec les politiques à caractère systémique.

56. Parmi les thèmes abordés au Burkina Faso (tableau 5.3), les plus récurrents sont ceux relatifs à

l’analyse du dispositif institutionnel, réglementaire et la conception des référentiels de formation avec (42%). Ensuite viennent ceux relatifs à l’enjeu et au rôle de formation (17%), l’adéquation



formation-emploi (11%), la formation continue (9%). On remarque que les thèmes en rapport avec la recherche dans l’éducation et la formation, l’impact de la formation, l’accès et même le financement de la recherche sur le DCTP sont faiblement abordés, soit 1%.

Tableau 5-3 : Répartition des études recensées selon le thème de 1990 à 2010 au Burkina Faso Thèmes abordés Nombre

d’études Pourcentage

Dispositif, conception des référentiels et programmes de formation 63 42 Rôle et enjeu de la formation 27 17 Adéquation formation emploi (pertinence) 17 11 Formation continue dans les organisations 13 9 Insertion des sortants des systèmes de formation 08 5 Orientation dans les filières de formation 08 5 Financement de la formation 04 3 Accès à la formation 03 2 Effets ou impact de la formation 03 2 La recherche dans l’éducation et la formation 02 1 Autres 03 2 Total 151 100 Source : données de l’étude 57. Les thèmes traités au Ghana portent essentiellement sur la coordination du champ de l’ETPF,

l’accès à l’ETFP, le financement, la définition et la mise en œuvre des politiques, les conditions de formation (infrastructure, qualité de la formation et qualifications des formateurs) et la stigmatisation dont continuent de faire l’objet les filières de formation par rapport aux filières générales.

58. Dans le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire (graphique 5-4), le thème dominant de la recherche est la formation continue. Ce constat se justifie par le fait que la principale agence nationale de formation continue, le FDFP, a commandité de nombreuses études pour identifier les besoins de formation en entreprise. Le secteur éducatif vient en seconde position dans les thèmes abordés par la recherche. Les thèmes relatifs à l’insertion et aux activités informelles sont très peu abordés par la recherche.

Graphique 5-4 : Répartition des thèmes de recherche selon les acteurs de production en Côte d’Ivoire




59. Compte tenu de l’importance du rôle joué par les structures étatiques nationales et les organisations internationales et les banques multilatérales en tant que commanditaires de la recherche, les thèmes qui apparaissent le plus souvent dans les études sont ceux qui sont le plus directement liés à la mise en oeuvre des stratégies de ces acteurs. C’est également le cas en Amérique Latine où l’éducation et la formation en compétences professionnelles, l’enseignement technique secondaire et tertiaire, l’évaluation de politiques et/ou de programmes de formation professionnelle ou de formation pour le travail, qui sont les thèmes les plus communs aux études recensées, sont également ceux des réformes mises en œuvre depuis les années 1990.

60. En Afrique du Sud, les principaux thèmes de recherche sont l’analyse des besoins de formation

des entreprises, la cohérence aux niveaux institutionnel, systémique et politique, les déconnexions entre éducation et marché du travail, le désalignement du Cadre de qualifications national (National Qualifications Framework), l’impact du système d’apprentissage, les efficiences au niveau structurel et dans les domaines de la gestion et du recrutement, et la capacité des ressources humaines de faire face aux réformes institutionnelles.

5.4 Approches de la recherche sur le DCTP 61. Les travaux de recherche collectés et analysés dans les trois pays ouest africain présentent une

configuration identique qui peut s’illustrer par l’exemple type de la Côte d’Ivoire. En effet, le domaine récurent de la recherche est celui de l’économie (macroéconomie et microéconomie). Les domaines qui suivent relèvent de l’éducation (dispositif de formation, pédagogie, didactique) et de la socio-anthropologie (comportements dans l’organisation).

62. Ces études s’inscrivent dans le modèle de la recherche-action au Burkina Faso alors qu’en Côte

d’Ivoire, elles utilisent plus l’approche diagnostique que l’approche critique. Graphique 5-5 : Les approches disciplinaires dans la recherche sur le DCTP en Côte d’Ivoire


63. La ventilation des acteurs selon le domaine de recherche montre que les études centrées sur une

démarche économique sont majoritaires, voire monopolisent les productions de tous les acteurs, à l’exception des consultants. C’est dans ce groupe d’acteurs que l’on trouve la plus grande diversité d’approches et c’est le seul qui utilise l’approche socio-anthropologique.



Graphique 5-6 : Répartition des approches de recherche selon les acteurs en Côte d’Ivoire

Source : données de l’étude 64. La présence de l’approche économique est nécessaire dans le champ du DCTP, compte tenu de sa

proximité avec celui du travail et de la production. Toutefois, la domination de l’approche économique oblitère les autres approches nécessaires à l’analyse de ce champ, que sont l’éducation et la socio-anthropologie, mais également la socio-linguistique, le droit, l’histoire (institutionnelle et économique), les sciences politiques, la démographie et la statistique. On peut également questionner la capacité des espaces où se produit la recherche à favoriser une démarche interdisciplinaire, c’est-à-dire le travail en commun d’une équipe de chercheurs de différentes disciplines.

65. La prédominance d’une approche macroéconomique dans l’analyse du champ n’est pas une spécificité ouest africaine. Elle doit toutefois être interrogée car, comme le rappelle McGrath “Skills systems are filled with people and learners who are ultimately at the heart of TVET. This clearly raises methodological issues regarding whose perspectives are reflected by research and which of the relevant knowledges about TVET are privileged and which silenced” (McGrath, 2011).

66. En Amérique Latine, ce sont les évaluations des politiques et des programmes de formation professionnelle qui représentent la plus large part des études recensées. La plupart sont axées sur les questions d’efficience externe et mesurent, par le biais d’études de suivi des élèves ayant participé à des programmes de formation, l’impact de ces derniers sur l’emploi et l’employabilité. On trouve également de nombreuses études qui portent sur l’analyse des réformes de l’enseignement secondaire technique mises en œuvre dans de nombreux pays d’Amérique Latine depuis le début des années 2000 et sur l’émergence de l’enseignement technique tertiaire. Au-delà des évaluations, qui portent sur une partie ou une sous-partie du système, quelques études ont pour objectif d’analyser le système de DCTP dans sa totalité.

67. Les études produites par les acteurs académiques se distinguent par l’usage plus fréquent de méthodes qualitatives, et par le fait qu’elles tendent à interroger les hypothèses sur lesquelles sont fondées les politiques, qui ne sont pas remises en question par les autres types d’études. Par exemple, certaines études analysent a) les trajectoires d’acteurs, les stratégies mises en œuvre par les acteurs par rapport aux dispositifs de formation, b) la mise en œuvre des politiques et le rôle joué par les acteurs qui y prennent part aux différents niveaux du programmes, c) les conditions sociopolitiques et culturelles dans lesquelles les programmes sont mis en œuvre, d) les relations entre discours et action aux différents niveaux de système. Alors que les évaluations se fondent sur la théorie du capital humain, les recherches de type académique s’efforcent de mettre en évidence les bénéfices sur le plan social que les participants aux programmes de formation peuvent obtenir,



au-delà des bénéfices économiques. D’autres études questionnent les liens entre le niveau éducatif, l’offre de formation et l’inclusion dans l’emploi, mettent en avant la complexité de l’insertion professionnelle des jeunes et soulignent que la création d’emploi se produit dans le monde économique plus que grâce à la formation. Les liens entre ETFP et enseignement général, et la formation en dehors des dispositifs formels, notamment dans le secteur informel, sont deux autres thèmes que l’on retrouve dans les recherches produites par les acteurs académiques.

5.5 Evolution de la recherche au cours des 20 dernières années 68. L’évolution des études au cours des 20 dernières années au Burkina Faso (tableau 5-7) montre un

accroissement de la production au cours de la deuxième décennie (2000-2010) avec 74% des travaux recensés. Cela traduit un intérêt sans cesse croissant du monde de la formation pour la production d’études mais celui-ci ne donne la priorité aux questions relatives au DCTP.

Tableau 5-7 : Evolution de la production des études par quinquennat de 1990 à 2010 au Burkina Faso Année 1990 - 1995 1996- 2000 2001 - 2005 2006- 2010 Total Nombre de productions 19 20 51 61 151 Pourcentage 13% 13% 34% 40% 100% Source : données de l’étude

69. Dans le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire, l’analyse de l’évolution de la recherche fait apparaître un renversement des priorités en matière de thématiques (figure 5-8). En effet, si les préoccupations au début des années 1990 concernaient la formation continue et, accessoirement, l’éducation, la première décennie des années 2000 voit revenir prioritairement les questions fondamentales de la maîtrise du système éducation-formation.

Graphique 5-8 : Evolution thématique de la recherche en Côte d’Ivoire

Source : données de l’étude 70. Cependant, au-delà de cette tendance d’ensemble, le graphique pointe quatre singularités sur

l’évolution thématique de la recherche :

- Alors qu’elle occupait l’essentiel du champ de la réflexion jusqu’à la fin des années 1990, la formation continue décline vertigineusement ;



- Consécutivement au traitement social du chômage (plan national de l’emploi de 1991,

politique des fonds sociaux en 1995, plan de relance de l’emploi de 2000) puis aux années de crise sociopolitique, la question de l’insertion devient dominante. Toutefois, cette thématique de recherche décline au profit de programmes-action du type Désarmement Démobilisation Réinsertion (DDR) ;

- La recherche centrée sur les activités informelles est rare, en dépit de l’importance de ce

secteur pour l’économie ; - Après avoir cédé le champ de la réflexion aux préoccupations de compétitivité globale de

l’économie ivoirienne et plus tard à celles du traitement des conséquences sociales des crises économique et sociopolitique, l’on note un regain d’intérêt en matière d’éducation-formation.

71. L’étude réalisée en Afrique du Sud propose une intéressante analyse de l’évolution de la recherche

sur le DCTP depuis la fin de l’apartheid. Trois périodes sont distinguées : « La période de construction », « Les premières critiques » et « La déconstruction, une nouvelle phase ». La première s’étend de 1994 à 2003. Elle se caractérise par une étroite proximité entre la production de recherche et la mise en œuvre des politiques. En effet, le développement des compétences (skills development) est au centre de la stratégie de développement post-apartheid, et la priorité est de produire les données – essentiellement quantitatives – sur lesquelles pourront s’appuyer les nouvelles politiques de DCTP, destinées à remplacer les systèmes différenciés de l’apartheid. Les organisations para-étatiques, les institutions privées et, dans une moindre mesure, les universités, sont les principaux moteurs de la production de recherche. C’est également au cours de cette période que sont mis en place des systèmes de production de données sur les besoins des entreprises. Entre 2003 et 2009, au cours de la seconde période, les politiques sont désormais dans la phase de mise en œuvre. On assiste à une distanciation entre la recherche et les politiques. On observe également un développement important de la recherche académique, qui adopte une posture critique par rapport aux politiques mises en œuvre. Un certain nombre d’hypothèses sur lesquelles se fondent les politiques sont questionnées : les liens entre éducation et croissance économique, entre éducation et réduction de la pauvreté, entre éducation et travail. La période des premières critiques se prolonge, à partir de 2009, par celle de « La déconstruction, une nouvelle phase ». Celle-ci se caractérise par un rapprochement des chercheurs et des décideurs politiques, ainsi que par une prise de distance par rapport au corpus de données développé au cours des périodes précédentes.



6. ATTENTES, BESOINS ET DEMANDES EN TERMES DE RECHERCHE

72. L’analyse des informations collectées auprès des décideurs des politiques d’éducation et de

formation, des structures de financement et d’appui technique, des structures de formation/formateurs et des bénéficiaires permet de mettre en évidence les attentes, besoins et demandes en termes de recherche sur le DCTP.

73. Au Burkina Faso, les demandes d’études concernent trois niveaux :

- La réalisation d’études sectorielles en vue de comprendre les difficultés, les potentialités et

surtout les besoins présents et futurs en compétences et en qualifications à développer ; - Le développement des référentiels et des programmes de formation ; - Le suivi des sortants en vue de disposer d’informations sur leur trajectoire et l’évaluation

de la qualité des contenus de formation. 74. En Côte d’Ivoire, l’analyse des entretiens conduit à identifier six catégories d’attentes, besoins et

demandes classés par ordre d’importance: (i) Qualité de la formation ; (ii) Gouvernance, institution, partenariat ; (iii) Connaissance du marché de l’emploi ; (iv) Réforme des curricula ; (v) Recherche participative ; (vi) Certification.

75. Les analyses des entretiens indiquent que les possibilités d’un dialogue entre la recherche et les

politiques existent. En effet, les indications de cette éventualité sont attestées par l’accueil positif réservé aux études sur le PVRH, aux recherches sur l’analyse des besoins en formation financés par les structures nationales de la formation professionnelle continue et, plus généralement, les études commanditées par les bailleurs de fonds.

76. Cet accueil est cependant mitigé en ce qui concerne les études effectuées par les administrations

centrales et la recherche heuristique. Ces productions documentent davantage la pratique administrative et renvoient aux travaux de fin cycle des étudiants, constituant tout de même une base de connaissance susceptible d’amorcer la recherche sur le DCTP.

77. L’analyse des documents au Ghana a mis en exergue cinq catégories d’attentes, besoins et

demandes en recherche pour répondre aux objectifs majeurs du DCTP :

- To create a flexible human resource supply system that is responsive to changing labour market conditions

- Produce a high quality skilled workforce that will make Ghanaian industries, products and service more competitive in the local and global market

- Increase income-earning capacities, especially of vulnerable groups through skill training, lifelong learning and integration into the modern economy.

- Contribute to increased foreign exchange earning through the mobility of skilled labour in the region and globally

- Contribute to the maintenance of economic and political stability.



7. PROPOSITIONS PRIORITAIRES REALISTES POUR

LES RECHERCHES A MENER DANS LE CHAMP DU DCTP ET CONDITIONS REQUISES

78. Les données du Burkina Faso permettent d’identifier onze propositions prioritaires de recherche

que l’on peut classer en quatre catégories (tableau 7-1). On peut constater une prédominance pour les deux premières catégories portant sur la demande ainsi que l’offre et le management. Par contre, les questions de DCTP dans le secteur informel, celui de l’agriculture et dans le domaine de l’entreprenariat féminin sont encore mineures en tant que centres d’intérêt de la recherche alors même que ces deux dimensions sont déterminantes dans l’économie du pays.

Tableau 7-1 : Répartition des propositions prioritaires de recherche au Burkina Faso

Demande Offre et Management Didactique de la formation

Autres

La qualité de l’offre de formation

La problématique du financement de la formation

Etude sur l’utilisation des résultats de la recherche dans le domaine du DCTP

Les déterminants de la demande de formation

Le dispositif accompagnement insertion

Le secteur informel et la formation

Les obstacles de l’accès à la formation professionnelle

Le dispositif accompagnement insertion

Le répertoire des métiers

La décentralisation et la formation professionnelle

L’élaboration de nouveaux référentiels

L’entreprenariat féminin

79. En ce qui concerne le Ghana (tableau 7-2), les recherches à conduire dans le cadre de l’ETFP pour

l’avenir sont orientées autour de :

- Questions générales de préférence disciplinaire et de discrimination entre les sciences et la technologie ;

- Méthodes d’enseignement des sciences et de la technologie ; - Financement « classique », management institutionnel, pertinence et articulation des

formations avec le monde de l’entreprise ainsi que les stratégies pédagogiques performantes pour développer le couple formation-apprentissage.



Tableau 7-2 : Répartition des propositions prioritaires de recherche au Ghana

Issues Science and Technology issues

Possible research questions

1. Humanities versus sciences in schools

Why are students choosing humanities over science in schools? Are the linkages between primary, high school and tertiary science teaching adequate? What does the labour market need? Should the current 60:40 ratio for humanities and science be continued? How does this affect labour market trends in Ghana?

2. Teaching of science in schools

How can the laboratories be given the requisite attention, keeping in mind that it is unlikely that a large amount of funding will suddenly become available for this purpose? Are there things schools can do to ensure that equipment is maintained and/or upgraded? Are there methodologies that teachers can employ that are less reliant on workshops?

TVET issues 1. Financing of the TVET sub-sector

How can we ensure a sustainable and predictable source of funding for TVET and COTVET activities? Can COTVET raise its own funds? If so, in what way?

2. The apprenticeship scheme

Is the current design of the apprenticeship scheme the best way forward? Should the focus be shifted from free training, stipends and toolkits? How can we ensure that master craftspeople are adequately trained? What are the inter-sectoral implications of this scheme? How can we have effective monitoring and evaluation of this scheme?

3. Relevance of TVET

Are TVET graduates the types of graduates that employers are looking for? Can technical education adequately cater for this need? Is the current curriculum and the equipment outdated? How are plans to review the curriculum progressing? How can instructors be in touch with the needs of industry to ensure they produce students with the requisite skills? How can staff and trainee attachments be used to increase the relevance of technical education? How can industry resources be tapped to improve relevance and quality?

4. The role of COTVET

How can COTVET effectively manage and coordinate service providers in the TVET sub-sector to ensure consistency and effectiveness? The role of COTVET and its responsibilities have been clearlydefined. However, how can we ensure that it is capable and permitted to carry out this role? What role do other ministries have to play? What is the role of the private sector in COTVET and how can it be strengthened and made more effective? What should be the clear responsibilities of the collaborating Ministries and Agencies to enhance TVET Education in the country and activities of COTVET?

80. Dans le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire (tableau 7-3), la recherche à développer sur le DCTP s’intègre dans

trois thèmes :

- La connaissance du marché du travail et des métiers particulièrement dans le secteur de l’agriculture ;

- Les capacités managériales institutionnelles et l’articulation de la formation avec le monde de l’entreprise ;



- Les stratégies pertinentes de formation pour le renforcement du DCTP. Tableau 7-3 : Répartition des propositions prioritaires de recherche en Côte d’Ivoire Thème 1 : Connaissance du marché du travail

Thème 2 : Gouvernance, institution, partenariat

Thème 3 : Qualité de la formation

Domaines d’activités porteurs d’emploi

Objet de la politique de formation : insertion ou développement des compétences

Type de collaboration entre milieu professionnel et milieu de la formation

Disponibilité et accessibilité des terres cultivables

Contribution des bailleurs de fonds au développement des compétences

Formation des formateurs

Choix professionnel des diplômés des écoles agricoles

Potentialité économique des régions et développement de la formation professionnelle

Choix pédagogique (PPO-FPC)

Métiers et compétences en formation agricole

Rôle des entreprises dans la formation professionnelle

Adéquation formation-exigences des différents corps de métiers en agriculture

Besoins de compétences et renforcement des capacités

Planification de la formation et l’emploi

Le rôle du secteur professionnel dans la formation professionnelle

Relation recrutement-emploi Renforcement des capacités des ressources humaines du secteur informel Formation professionnelle et performance institutionnelle Insertion professionnelle et reconversion des diplômés

Perception de l’ETFP chez les apprenants

Pertinence du programme de formation

81. Les propositions prioritaires de recherche sur le DCTP qui se dégagent pour ces trois pays peuvent

se résumer autour de cinq axes :

- Offre et gestion institutionnelle du DCTP : financement, planification, développement régional de la formation, gouvernance ;

- Demande de formation par la connaissance des activités productives et des besoins du marché du travail ;

- Valorisation de l’offre en DCTP, en particulier dans le secteur informel et l’agriculture ; - Stratégies de formation liés à la didactique et la pédagogie par l’élaboration de nouveaux

référentiels plus pertinents et mieux adaptés au contexte de développement industriel et économique ;

- Insertion professionnelle des diplômés. 82. Les propositions prioritaires de recherche sur le DCTP dégagées par les trois études de cas

réalisées en Afrique de l’Ouest confirment l’importance d’une approche pluridisciplinaire des questions de DCTP. De plus, il est attendu de la recherche qu’elle puisse alimenter la mise en œuvre des politiques et programmes à différentes étapes : au moment de leur définition, notamment par l’apport de données concernant les métiers et les besoins du marché du travail, au stade de la mise en œuvre, pour permettre l’élaboration de référentiels adaptés au contexte, et pour le suivi avec des analyses portant sur l’insertion professionnelle des diplômés. La recherche a également un rôle à jouer pour une meilleure compréhension et prise en compte du secteur informel et de l’agriculture, qui occupent une place prépondérante dans l’économie des trois pays étudiés.



83. Quelles sont les conditions pour que la recherche puisse répondre aux attentes et demandes exprimées par les acteurs du DCTP ? Premièrement, tant l’étude sur l’Amérique Latine que celle sur l’Afrique du Sud soulignent l’importance des mécanismes permanents de production d’information de suivi, non seulement pour la prise de décision politique mais aussi pour les chercheurs.

84. Deuxièmement, il apparaît indispensable de favoriser l’émergence d’une communauté de

chercheurs stable et capable de se renouveler. Les recherches suscitées par les institutions de l’Etat et les organisations internationales sont nécessaires pour assurer un suivi des politiques et programmes qu’elles financent et mettent et œuvre. En revanche, en privilégiant une approche de type macroéconomique, elles ne permettent pas une analyse des multiples dimensions du DCTP, qui requiert des équipes de chercheurs interdisciplinaires. Les recherches qualitatives, qui mettent les acteurs au centre de l’analyse, sont nécessaires, notamment pour l’analyse du secteur informel et de l’agriculture, largement ignorés actuellement. De plus, la recherche commanditée, par définition, ne permet pas une distanciation par rapport aux présupposés qui fondent les programmes et politiques, condition pour identifier et dépasser leurs limites. Finalement, seule une communauté de chercheurs stables est à même de pouvoir participer aux discours internationaux, les analyser et les adapter au contexte national.

85. Compte tenu du phénomène de désinstitutionalisation de la recherche observé dans les trois pays

enquêtés, quelles plateformes sont-elles propices au développement d’une communauté de chercheurs sur le DCTP ? Les réseaux pourraient apporter une réponse, mais leur pérennité et leur légitimité dépendent de l’existence d’une base institutionnelle qui, à ce jour, est insuffisante. Des leçons pourraient être tirées d’expériences dans d’autres domaines comme ceux de la santé ou de l’agriculture.



8. CONCLUSION 86. Les études réalisées au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana montrent que la recherche

commanditée – par les institutions de l’Etat, par les organisations internationales et par les agences de coopération bilatérale – domine nettement la production dans le champ du DCTP.

87. Les cabinets d’études et les consultants sont les principaux producteurs de la recherche dans le champ du DCTP en Afrique de l’ouest. Accessoirement, ces productions scientifiques sont accompagnées par des contributions de cadres nationaux universitaires responsables d’administration centrale. Les contributions de ces derniers alimentent surtout l’état des lieux de l’emploi et des politiques d’aide à l’embauche. Les acteurs académiques sont minoritaires, ce qui confirme l’hypothèse de désinstitutionalisation de la recherche observée de manière générale dans le domaine des sciences sociales dans la région. Cette situation présente un tableau de la recherche scientifique en DCTP constitué d’une juxtaposition d’études ponctuelles et à court terme. Ces études présentent des limites car elles ne parviennent pas à cerner un objet systémique comme le DCTP.

88. Les thèmes les plus abordés par la recherche dans le champ du DCTP sont ceux qui sont directement en lien avec les politiques et les programmes mis en œuvre par les commanditaires. L’approche qui domine est celle de la macroéconomie.

89. Il existe un décalage entre les recherches disponibles et les demandes et attentes prioritaires des acteurs du DCTP. Ces demandes et attentes concernent :

- La gestion institutionnelle : financement, planification, développement régional de la

formation, gouvernance ; - L’analyse des demandes fondée sur la connaissance des activités productives et des besoins du

marché du travail ; - Une meilleure compréhension du secteur informel et de l’agriculture ; - Le développement de curricula mieux adaptés au contexte ; - L’insertion professionnelle des diplômés.

90. Ce décalage met en exergue les limites du corpus de recherches disponible et de ses conditions de

production. Comme dans ces trois pays, la recherche commanditée et l’approche macroéconomique est prépondérante en Afrique du Sud et en Amérique Latine. Toutefois, la présence plus importance de productions académiques permet de souligner les avantages comparatifs de ces dernières : analyse des multiples dimensions du DCTP, approche qualitative, qui, en mettant les acteurs et leurs pratiques au centre, permet de comprendre comment les programmes et les politiques sont mis en œuvre, leurs effets sur les bénéficiaires et comment ils sont réappropriés ; analyse de secteurs trop souvent négligés comme le secteur informel et l’agriculture. En outre, l’existence d’une communauté de chercheurs stable et capable de se renouveler a un rôle à jouer dans l’appropriation des discours et politiques internationaux en participant à leur production et en les adaptant au contexte national. Ces études mettent également en évidence le double rôle que la recherche peut jouer par rapport à la décision politique: alimenter la définition, la mise en œuvre et le suivi des politiques par la production de données sur les besoins du marché du travail, les pratiques et besoins de formation dans le secteur informel et l’agriculture, le suivi des diplômés, mais également, par une analyse critique des présupposés sur lesquelles se fondent les politiques et programmes, contribuer à leur renouvellement.



PROPOSITIONS

91. L’étude montre des similitudes dans les trois pays d’Afrique de l’ouest où la recherche sur le

DCTP est encore faible. Ce constat conduit à suggérer une mutualisation des résultats disponibles sous la forme d’une bibliothèque accessible en ligne. En effet, cette mise en commun a pour objectif de favoriser le partage des résultats et présente l’avantage de contribuer à la compréhension de ce champ dans les différents pays. Cette option peut ainsi permettre d’identifier des perspectives communes de recherche et d’envisager des études transnationales sur le DCTP.

92. L’agenda de recherche prioritaire esquissé à partir des entretiens réalisés avec les acteurs du champ du DCTP en Afrique de l’ouest mériterait d’être validé et précisé par l’organisation d’un forum au niveau régional, qui aboutirait à la définition d’une plateforme permettant de définir des priorités pour des programmes de recherche capables de mobiliser les ressources humaines et financières indispensables à leur succès. La présence de chercheurs sud-africains et latino-américains serait profitable aux débats d’un tel forum.

93. Explorer les réseaux qui se sont constitués dans la région dans les champs de la santé et de l’agriculture et en tirer les leçons pour le champ du DCTP.



9. BIBLIOGRAPHIE McGrath, S. (2011), « Building a Conversation for the UKFIET Conference ». Unpublished document. Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (2006, 2009), Rapport mondial sur le développement humain, PNUD, New York. Republic of Ghana (2011), Education in Ghana : Improving Equity, Efficiency and Accountability of Education Service Delivery, Document of the World Bank, Accra. ROCARE (1997), Négligée et sous-estimée, la recherche en éducation en Afrique centrale et Afrique occidentale : une synthèse d’études nationales du ROCARE, ROCARE, Bamako. Schuh, P. ; Koné, Z. & Tano, K. (2010), L’Enseignement Technique et la Formation Professionnelle en Côte d’Ivoire : Institutions, budgets, effets, Banque Mondiale, Abidjan. UNESCO (2007), Recueil de données mondiales l'éducation 2007 : statistiques comparées sur l'éducation dans le monde, http://www.uis.unesco.org/.../GED2007_FR.pdf UNESCO (2010), Guidelines for TVET Policy Review (Draft) UNESCO ED/ESB/TVET/2010/02, Paris.



10. ANNEXES ANNEXE I : Documents consultés pour l’étude dans chaque pays Documents consultés au Burkina Faso Association des Professionnels de la Maintenance au Burkina, (2004), Répertoires des Etablissements d’Enseignements Technique et Professionnel du Burkina Faso, Maison de l’entreprise du Burkina Faso 168p. Bamouni M.,(1990), Rôle de la chambre de commerce, de l’industrie et d’artisanat du Burkina (CCIAB) en matière de formation et d’assistance aux entreprises, 38p. Barroi M, Marcha I. (1990), Rapport d’audit sur le système de formation technique professionnelle au Burkina Faso, Mission française de coopération et d’action culturelle de Ouagadougou, 147p. Batiana A. ; Kone B., (2002), Evaluation des performances des élèves des écoles satellites, 86p. Batiebo Aline, (2009), Analyse des pratiques et outils de gestion des ressources humaines d’une unité de gestion de projet de développement cas de la cellule d’appui à la gestion commune (CAGEC), 134p. Baux S, (2007), Les familles lobi et l’école : entre projets mutuels et lentes acceptations, 567p. Bin-pousse M. T. (2007), Déployer les compétences et pouvoir agir ou l’envol du cerf-volant, Edition d’en bas, 423p. BIT ; ONUDI, (1997), Etude sur le secteur privé et l’environnement des entreprises du Burkina, Bureau d’étude ESOP/CD, 138p. Bogore G. R., (1996), Etude sur l’éducation préscolaire au Burkina Faso, 14p. Bonnasieux A., (2004), Le droit à l’éducation quelle effectivité au Sud et au Nord ? Terre des Hommes, 11p. Bureau Initiatives Conseil International (ICI) , (2008) , Etude emploi- formation dans le secteur des BTP au Burkina Faso, Centre d’Etude des Métiers et des qualifications (CEMEQ), 106p. Bureau Initiatives Conseil International (ICI), 2008, Etude d’opportunité pour la création de formation dans le domaine de la maintenance industrielle au Burkina Faso, Centre d’Etude des Métiers et des qualifications (CEMEQ), 118p. Bureau International du travail (BIT) –IPEC LUTRENA/ Ministère du Travail et de la Sécurité Sociale, 2009, Atelier de restitution des bonnes pratiques et des leçons apprises du projet, LUTRENAG8/001682, 26p. Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle (2004), Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan menuisier métallique (niveau 1, 2, 3) Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle (2004), Le référentiel de métier de l’ouvrier artisan mécanicien automobile



Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle (2004), Les référentiels de métiers de l’ouvrier artisan coiffeur Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle (2004), Les référentiels de métiers de l’ouvrier artisan électricien bâtiment, 70p. Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle (2004), Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan mécanicien deux roues (niveau 1, 2, 3) Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle programme de formation (2004), Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan modéliste (niveau 1, 2, 3) Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004), Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan automobile (niveau 1, 2, 3), 130p. Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004) Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan coiffeur (niveau 1, 2) Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004), Le référentiel de métier de l’ouvrier artisan mécanicien 02 roues Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004), Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan maçon (niveau 1, 2, 3). Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004), Les référentiels de métiers de l’ouvrier artisan maçon, 91p. Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004), Les référentiels de métiers de l’ouvrier artisan menuisier Ebéniste, 102p. Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004), Les référentiels de métiers de l’ouvrier artisan menuisier métallique, 90p. Cellule d’appui à la formation professionnelle, (2004), Le référentiel de métier de l’ouvrier artisan modéliste Cellule d’appui à la formation, (2002), Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan menuisier ébénisterie (niveau 1, 2, 3) professionnelle. Cellule d’appui à la formation, (2002), Programme de formation de l’ouvrier artisan électricité bâtiment (niveau 1, 2, 3) professionnelle, 150p. CEMEQ, (2006), Etude emploi/formation dans le secteur agroalimentaire au Burkina Faso, CEMEQ, 77p. Chambre de commerce (2009), Etat du secteur privé, Chambre de commerce 67 p. Chambre du commerce (2010), Etat des lieux de l’investissement privé au Burkina Faso : Quelle stratégie de relance, 153p. Compaoré A. A. (2008), La formation/perfectionnement technique et ses effets socioéconomiques sur l’artisanat : le cas des tisseuses formées de l’Association des Tisseuses du Kadiogo (ATK) et de leur structure d’appui, le bureau des Artisans de Ouagadougou (BAO), mémoire département sociologie de l'université de Ouagadougou, 115p.



Compaoré F., Compaore M., Lange M.F., Pilon M., (2007), La question éducative au Burkina Faso Regards pluriels, rapport d’atelier, 285 p. Compaoré M. ; Deniseapémélo N, (2007), Contribution à l’amélioration de la gestion prévisionnelle des emplois et des compétences à la représentation de l’ASECNA au BF, mémoire, 44p. Compaoré F. et al, (2003), Les cours du soir à Ouagadougou (tome1), Diakonia, 51p. Congo B., Kabore S., (2007), Information du suivi des formations professionnelles des agents de l’ONATEL, 194p. Consortium CEFOC/GEE-IPD/AOS INADES/formation/Burkina, (2006), Rapport de l’atelier groupe d’ingénierie filière fruits et légumes, 75p. Coulibaly J. M, (2000), Rapport final de l’étude sur l’enseignement technique et professionnel au BF, MESSRS, 62 p. Coulibaly J.M., 2005, Accès la formation professionnelle: l'apprentissage, une alternative crédible de formation au Burkina Faso, le cas de la ville de Ouagadougou, 152P. Damiba P.C. (2007), Etude sur le profil des secteurs porteurs et constitution d’une banque d’idées de projets privés au Burkina Faso, Maison de l’entreprise, 216p. DANIDA, (2005), Pratiques et expériences incorporant le préprofessionnel dans l’enseignement de base au Burkina Faso, 81 p. Daniel A, (1990), Rapport de l’inspecteur de sciences et techniques industrielles, MESS, 14p. Debouvry P., (2004), Programme d'appui à la stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté: développement du capital humain du secteur agricole, 201p. Deyoko A., (1994) Etude sur les besoins et les capacités de formation pour le développement institutionnel des ONG au Burkina Faso, Agence canadienne de développement (ACDI) CRD International Institute for environnentand Developpement (IIED), 22p. Diando A., (1994) Rapport d’évaluation du projet d’appui à la rénovation de l’enseignement technique, 51p. E K Ilboudo, M Compaoré, B Ouédraogo, P Somda F Konda, B Kanoré, 2001, Revue de l’analyse sectorielle en éducation au Burkina Faso, 150p. Fédération nationale des PME-FN/PME, (2010), Projet de charte des micros petites et moyennes entreprises au BF, Fédération nationale des PME-FN/PME, 34p. Gadiaga H, (2008), La problématique de la formation professionnelle continue au sein de la direction générale du budget : état des lieux et perspectives, mémoire ENAM, 55p. Gaude J, (1995), Formation : étude de politique, Bureau International du travail (BIT)/Ministère du Travail et de la Sécurité Sociale (MTSS).Section travail des enfants, 26p. Gouem G.R., (2008), La gestion personnelle des emplois et compétences GPEC), enjeux et limites : cas de l’UFR/SEG, 65p. Goumbané I., (2007), De l’adhésion des agents de l’Etat au nouveau système d’évaluation des performances. Cas du ministère de la Fonction Publique et de la Ré-forme de l’Etat, 73p.



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ANNEXE II: State of art about research oriented to Skills Development of Youth in Latin America in the last decade Claudia Jacinto, redEtis, IIPE-UNESCO This article revises recent studies about youth, education and employment, focusing on a particular sub-field. It specifically refers to the development of skills in youngsters in the area of formal education (mainly technical secondary school) as well as vocational training and training programmes. Within this sub-field, a more specific area has been separated: the one that refers to documents which examine the processes of development of policies and/or SD programmes and their impact in a wider sense. In fact, the recommended criteria to focus mainly, has been followed: “research (that) could address in order to provide guidance to the formulation of national development of policy on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The questions are derived from the policy debate” (Lauglo, 2006). In this case, on TVET in Latin America that in some cases follows the international debate. It is mainly based on surveys of research/studies/consultancies which are available online. Based on “states of arts” more widely produced by RedEtis a few years after 2000, work produced particularly from 2004/2005 have been surveyed. Approaches and findings from 70 papers in five countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay have been analysed and summarized as well as some papers which deal with several countries comparatively. In the search for papers, the subjects surveyed mainly covered the systems/policies/institutions of technical education and work programmes and professional training of young people including the following sub subjects: • Detection of sources of data/observatories concerning links between education and work • Profile of the population which attends, according to socio-economic level (access of lower income groups) • Relationships of the TVET institutions with the actors in the world of work: companies/unions/local governments • Specific work training programmes for young people • Internships or work practices, productive micro-ventures and/or self-employment, entrepreneurship • Process analysis (monitoring) and evaluation of the implementation of TVET reforms, particularly on: o Organization of systems based on labour competencies (developed curriculum, certification of skills, and validation of knowledge) o Improvement/evaluation of institutional quality • Inclusion of graduates in the work market: external effectiveness of the TVET and specific work training initiatives, follow up of graduates, career studies which link education/ training and inclusion • The relation between the research and the policy decision making in the TVET Nevertheless, as will be seen further on, the body of jobs found can be distributed in a much tighter group of subjects. The paper is structured as follows: First, the institutional contexts of elaboration of the selected corpus and the predominant subjects, are identified; second, follows a summary of some important findings of these studies; third, considering separately the body of assessments and the academic research, are analyzed and linked the approaches, contexts and their relations with the policies and intervention programmes and finally, some conclusions are presented. The annexes include the list of publications revised and a summary of the trends in production in the five countries selected.



1. Institutional contexts and subjects Generally speaking, research carried by international cooperation, such as the following, can be recognized: a) Evaluations of public policies and/or programmes of international cooperation. (Multilateral credit, bi-lateral cooperation) b) Studies carried out by international organisms (UNESCO, Cinterfor, CEPAL etc) Based especially on statistics from Household Surveys and educative surveys. Studies/researches carried out with national support by actors such as: a) Public organisms which develop policies/programmes (Ministry of Labour, Mexico, Ministries of Education on graduate follow-up in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico) are notable. b) The National Institutes of TVET like the SENA, and the S system in Brazil are very productive in evaluations c) Centres of public or private research which function with the support of the national system of academic research and/or universities (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) d) Individual consultants/researchers and/or private consultancy companies who are subcontracted by State organisms for evaluations (Chile, Colombia). This institutional variety in the production of knowledge is strongly linked to the subjects studied, the theoretical and methodological approaches and the research relationships with political decision-making, as will be discussed later. As selection’s criteria, many studies are linked to guidelines followed by SD policies. But in such cases, they are concerned with consultancies which use and examine data from secondary sources or it concerns evaluations. In general, levels of SD offer are tackled or it is concerned with case studies which point out problems or analytical reflections rather than providing wide empirical evidence. In only a few cases, there is academic research with wide aims of approach to a policy’s level of design, management, implementation and results and/or local work market research and available training for work. Compared with a traditional agenda of issues that link education and work, some topics that had been particularly fruitful during the last decade, can be highlighted : Education and training in labour competencies. This subject is particularly observed in countries such as Colombia, Chile and Mexico who have had projects aimed at the creation/order of a training system based on skills. Basically, it is about evaluations led by the agencies responsible of developing policies and / or by their external funders. Technical secondary and tertiary education. The organization of at least one graduate follow-up survey of great magnitude in technical secondary for the first time can be seen in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile (a lead also seen in Argentina). This means that quantitative information about young technicians in the labour market is available and Ministry of Education are normally responsible of these studies. There are also studies normally based on consultancies, mostly based on case studies on the implementation of recent reforms at this level, such as Brazil, Chile and Colombia. Concerning, technical education at tertiary level, this segment has had relative development in recent years, promoted by policies directed at the sector in some countries. Several studies deal with its evolution, difficulties in expansion and challenges for equity and inclusion of the graduates in the labour market in Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. Quantitative data coming from public statistics on these matters is scarce in some cases. The evaluation of policies and/or programmes of vocational training or work training. This sector covers the area where more jobs have been found. It is a product of its inclusion in projects with international financing and/or requirements of the public management systems and/or those of the National Institutes of Vocational Training (especially, System S in Brazil and SENA in Colombia), the inclusion of the graduates in the labour market is frequently studied. In this field, a certain



accumulation of knowledge can even be observed which is reflected in the re-direction of policies and/or institutional strategies on the subject. Trajectories and subjectivities related to TVET. These kinds of studies come from the academic sector. They attach importance to collective and individual actors in the construction of social action. Recognizing structural aspects in the construction of educative and work opportunities, three levels of analysis in the work transition of youngsters can be classified as innovative and can be emphasized: a) the logics of actions of subjects, b) the institutions as the place where the implementation of programmes and/or policies are “constructed” and c) the network approach to local and sectorial links. 2. Synthesis of findings 1) The type of study which has produced more papers in recent years in the countries examined is the evaluation of vocational training policies and programmes. This occurs as much in programmes with international financing as in programmes incorporated into national budgets, very often aimed at underprivileged sectors. We include different types of study in this area. The most frequent are those which focus on external efficiency, measuring, through graduate follow-ups, the impact on the employment and employability of the youngsters. Studies which are more sophisticated methodologically and which work with control groups and econometric techniques are also included, so comparing the results of the trained group with the control one. This last type of work is particularly found in Chile and Colombia. The evaluations carry different weight in the countries examined. In greater measure in Chile and partly in Colombia they are present as a mechanism of management of public policies, installed and financed by the State and/or multilateral cooperation which is involved also with the financing of the program. In the other countries there are more isolated evaluations or they are carried out steadily only in National Training Institutes such as the SENA or the S System. More unusual are the studies of internal efficiency of the programmes which examine the relation between aims, goals and implementation. Nevertheless, there are also some. Among them, there are quite different approaches. Some are based on the logframe model which considers aims and products (for example, ChileCalifica). Others, conversely, are more concerned with conflictive and at the same time collaborative social relationships between the actors of the training, aiming at a more organizational and socio-historic approach (for example, several studies coming from Projoven in Uruguay). This latter approach provides new reflections on the way of looking at the programme in the context of the evolution of the training system in the country. Evaluations, which have dealt with the recent initiatives on setting up a national system of labour competencies in Chile and Mexico, also excel. These initiatives have been the subject of wide ranging evaluations coming from public organisms as well as multilateral financing banks which have carried out multiple criticism (especially in Mexico) and recommendations for the following stages of these policies. Also studies in the academic field have dealt with them with two general approaches: a) accepting the convenience of the model but criticizing its implementation and expressing the need to recognize the conflicts of the process and the history of work training in the country; b) criticizing the conceptual and methodological limitations of the model, especially as far as secondary school and tertiary education is concerned, and asking for approaches from wider and more integral knowledge. Another contribution of only a few studies is to have introduced the perspective of comparison concerning the actual institutions which develop the training and/or have examined the positioning of the different actors who take part in the process (public organisms, companies, unions, youngsters, training centres), showing that the range of a policy or programme cannot be measured independently from this institutional action or from the meaning of the action for the actors. In this way, for example in a study in Chile, it is held that many of the changes carried out in the field of SD have gone forward without involving the actors directly affected by these measures and with weak control of the state and private institutions in charge of accomplishing the training policies.



Apart from the difference among the training programmes studied in different countries one can observe a) positive results of inclusion of youngsters, it is emphasized out that this result is linked to the new dynamism of the work market in this last decade and b) some methodological-conceptual refinement in the design of the programmes which are inspired on the accumulated state of art, such as the introduction of components of basic skills of employability and/or accompanying in the processes of work inclusion. 2) The analysis of the reforms in technical secondary school education, the installation of graduate follow-up and the emergent studies on the technical tertiary non-university level make up another relevant subject section. a) With respect to the technical secondary school, the findings come from studies gathering available secondary data, interviews with decision makers and only a few researches are based in institutional case studies. There were reforms in the nineties and new reforms in the 2000. But the amount of studies available is scarce. New reforms during early 21st century included changes in organization models (particularly in the cases of Argentina and Brazil, where the previous reforms were critically reviewed). Studies based on secondary data and some interviews showed the problems in the conception and implementation of previous reforms. For example, in Argentina, Gallart (2008) and Briasco (2010) concluded that the s reform, which initial intention was the design of flexible options trough the professional technical paths, had not political and technical viability during its implementation, resulting in high levels of fragmentation of the national supply (as technical schools and vocational training institutions depend on the 24 provinces of the country). The implementation of technical and vocational training showed a high level of heterogeneity, thus being identifiable different levels of institutional and curricular complexity, diverse hourly load of the trainings, different approaches with regard to internships as well as different styles and forms of articulation with the world work. There were many disparities in the implementation progress as well as significant heterogeneities for trainings of a same professional profile and many problems regarding quality. The introduction of as part of the general secondary education (GSE) was subject of research coming from the academic ground . Gomez et al. argued in their study led in secondary schools that number of students is not really significant in coverage and that it has an unilateral or "vertical" idea of articulation with SENA, which does not provide spaces for participation to educational institutions. Teachers training is also missing. b) The studies of graduates in different countries coincide in finding good inclusion of the technicians in the labour market, especially those from some specialties degree courses that continue their studies in the superior level. Summarizing findings of recent follow-ups of technicians in Chile, Brazil and México , in general, the data suggest that graduates of secondary technical education (STE) are mainly from the lower socioeconomic sector, although some heterogeneity can be observed by field of studies. This is the case of Chile, where 73% of graduates of STE belong to families of the first three quintiles of the distribution of national income. Something similar happens in Brazil, where most students of the federal network institutions come from economically disadvantaged families and in Mexico, where in general, CONALEP students come from households with lower income levels compared with other students of high secondary education. Once the graduates of secondary technical education complete their studies, their labor market insertion occurs in short periods of time, usually less than three months. Although, the activities carried out by graduates are not always related to the specialty studied, a high incidence of the specialty over activities can be observed. It is interesting to note that the lack of experience at work appears as the main difficulty in finding a job during the first searches. Although, there are few data about income levels of graduates from technical secondary education, the graduates note that people with higher education have better incomes and people graduated from regular secondary education, have lower incomes than their own. Most graduates considered as much appropriated the training received and were satisfied with the choice made. In general, different studies show the importance of the contribution of secondary



technical education, even though they point out the lack of articulation between training institutions with the production sector. Looking at the paths in greater detail few studies detect that the segmentation of the labour market also provides the youngsters with different work opportunities: according to the family educative capital and the local and sector context in their professional assignments. The studies often point out difficulties, distancing and different logic in the relation school-company, which appears in the complex processes of collaboration for curricular development. In any case, the policies tend to have different perspectives of these processes: while some countries ask for curricular development based on skills, others aim at more “integral” training in technical education. In several countries, business people have been asked about the profile of skills required and found in the secondary school graduates (Weller, 2008; Marrero, 2006). In general, the comments coincide with the favourable characteristics of the youngsters – their skills in the new technology. They require the youngsters to be trained in basic employability skills too, mainly linked to attitudes, use of cultural norms, individual effort, pro-activity and others, marking them out as “deficiencies” in the secondary school. Some academic studies provide arguments questioning this supposed need for greater “adequacy” or they find it relative because of its simplification of the complex processes of the youngsters’ inclusion: the main argument is that the creation of employment is produced in the labour market and not in the training. c) Referring to the technical tertiary level, the main findings of the reviewed studies (Turbay, Crespo, Jarbas, Fanelli, in press) can be summarized in the following way: Even though during the 1990s this level supply was stagnated, during the first decade of the 2000's the technical tertiary level increased considerably according to studies from IIEP in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. This growth is the result of diverse factors, mainly: a) the broadening of secondary education graduates; b) the public policies that promoted non-university modalities or alternative in front of the traditional liberal careers by different actions including bursaries and credits and c) greater demands of qualifications for technical jobs, especially in some countries and some areas of activities. Fanelli (in press) develops as it follows the conclusions of the comparison between the three countries. In the three countries, the NUTE constitutes a short-term option (between two and three years approximately), with a practical and vocational orientation for the training in soft and hard technologies. Different higher education institutions, either private or public can offer this level. However, in practice, the supply gathers in a few public institutions and in the case of Brazil and Colombia most of the enrollments concentrate in the private sector while in Mexico mainly in the public. The institutions are distributed among different regions within each country. The emerging of the NUTE refers back to the particular history of the different educational systems. However, it is possible to recognize two important processes. The first one has been the result of the transformation of technical and technological courses provided by informal sectors or by different kind of institutions, into more academic courses. The second one is the result of public policies that created non-university modalities or alternatives in front of the traditional liberal careers. Even though graduates of NUTE can continue studying to reach a university degree, in practice there are institutional obstacles as well as those of culture and economic capital. The institutions analyzed in the case-studies have tried to articulate the different modalities in the same organization or have made arrangements with other institutions to make it possible. Regarding the enrollment growth, it can be observed that it is a very dynamic level in the three countries. However, it is a minority within higher education in Brazil (9.5%) and Mexico (3.2%). On the contrary, in Colombia three out of ten students of higher education attend technical or technological courses. In the three countries, access to NUTE is usually less selective than to the more prestigious sectors of university. Even that, admission processes includes limited quantity of vacancies, exams and other mechanisms which tend to be more rigorous in Brazil and Colombia for the public sector more demanded and for the private sector of higher quality. Another barrier is the payment of fees in the private sector in Brazil and in both sectors in Colombia. To compensate inequalities of students in terms of economic capital, several mechanisms of funds assignment to the demand such as grants (PROUNI in Brazil, PRONABES in Mexico) or educational credits (credit ACCESS in Colombia) have been implemented in the studied countries.



There is a considerable proportion of technical tertiary students who come from sectors of lower resources than those of university level; often they do not enroll in the tertiary level straight from leaving secondary school. In fact, in the case of some of them, it seems they return to the educative system to obtain a diploma once they have work experience in their careers (studies in Chile and Brazil show this tendency). The lack of coordination between the technical secondary school and the higher level, the paths and recognition of previous knowledge is not clearly established. The technical tertiary level graduates find better inclusion in the labour market in terms of job and salary quality than those who have only a secondary school certificate but their inclusion is through less qualified and worse paid jobs than that of those who have a university degree. 3) The SD systems as a whole. A few studies stand out which, beyond the evaluation of programmes, have made efforts towards an evaluation of the system of SD in its entirety, such as the SENCE in Chile or the National Institute of Employment (Instituto Nacional de Empleo) in Uruguay which set out (in these cases from different perspectives) guidelines for future actions. Only some national papers and other papers with regional approaches generally contribute to broader approaches of SD systems and about preparing youth for work, mostly in the comparative sense. Many times these documents have deepened the analysis more of the vocational training than secondary or tertiary technical education where there are only few examples of studies. They have often highlighted the heterogeneities between countries depending on the configuration of labour markets and the historical evolutions of SD systems. Some countries show many strengths in their training systems but mostly addressed to formal workers. Two important findings that are repeated in studies focused on the SD system as a whole are: There are high levels of inequality and pockets of poverty that prevent a large proportion of the population from acquiring the basic skills that formal education should be providing. Vocational training as a whole is more like a collection of agencies and programmes superimposed on each other rather than an actual system, and it does not give coverage to the whole population targeted (Gallart, 2008; Weller, 2008). Perspectives about SD are frequently different or even contradictory. Ministries of Education and Labour differ in such key training issues as skills certification systems, while the social-oriented institutions in charge of poverty reduction programs fund more traditional ad hoc training, where skills-based curricula and certification are not even contemplated. Sometimes national public organizations involved in skills development have little internal coordination and linkage with other institutions, as they work on isolated objectives, interests and priorities and have never developed a long-term vision in technical and vocational education and training policies (Jacinto 2008; Vera, 2009. 4) Trajectories and subjectivities related to TVET Some studies, mostly academic, adopted the perspective of studying youth trajectories (for example, Sepulveda, 2010 Guerra, 2009;Pieck, 2011). They examine the ways in which individuals absorb TVET experiences, how they are motivated and the way they use them to obtain other resources such as social capital, economic support, social participation etc. are also considered relevant. They therefore show that the training experience and knowledge acquired there can in the subsequent careers of young people, be used in the improvement in the quality of the job to which they have access as well as in the activation and in other social and subjective aspects such as the wider range of social capital or the construction of a future occupational project. For this more comprehensive view, we turn to the comparative analysis of the work inclusion between different moments of careers (longitudinal studies) and the testimony of individuals in order to fully understand the processes. And in this way, examining the programmes along career paths allows them to see ruptures in the biographical settings. 3. Institutional contexts and approaches in the evaluations. The evaluations are normally based on the theory of human capital and the assumption that the educative and training investment will improve the perspectives of the work inclusion of young



people, that is, it will be valued on the labour market. The evaluations are supported explicitly (as in the work of Geo Consultores 2008, in Chile) or implicitly as in the models mainly developed by Schultz and Becker. They point out that differences such as sex, age, educative level, degree of training or development of character and experience have an influence on “human capital” and, consequently, on the productivity of workers. Experience and training in the workplace are also included in some studies, according to further contributions. In general terms, these studies have recognized the work performance of the graduates of financed programmes as the main way to measure the results of the Training Programmes. This methodology and approach has spread as an instrument of evaluation of training, covering secondary technical school education too and in a few cases, tertiary non university technical education . The scale included to measure performance not only covers income but also the quality of work, levels of qualification and the relation between work and studies carried out. In Colombia, one of the countries studied, where “evaluation culture” has most spread, studies which analyze the effects of the training programmes in broader terms have also been found, such as the approach to work, capacity for venture, management capacity and promotion of associability (Fedesarrollo, 2010). Likewise, the studies analyze the effects on the institutions involved in some programmes, such as in companies and training bodies in the case of Youngsters in Action (Jóvenes en Acción) (IFS, SEI, Econometría, 2007). Besides, a study which has evaluated the effects of all the actions of the SENA in the generation of social capital of the beneficiaries (Sarmiento and others, 2007) stands out. The methodological approaches find different levels of sophistication and some debates. They range from the follow up of graduates carried out some time after training to longitudinal studies which study and compare different moments in the inclusion trajectories of youngsters. However, as far as evaluation is specifically concerned, counter factual evaluations have been developed since the 1990s, normally encouraged and demanded by programs funded by International Cooperation. Quasi-experimental control groups were created in almost all youth programs financed by the IADB (Castro and Verdisco, 2001). As everywhere, the bias of these techniques has been debated, and it is often argued that these approaches tend to focus on economic outcomes while a range of social benefits that may be associated with training are underestimated. Distinguishable are evaluations carried out on wide programmes (which, for their part, include components developed in different levels of the SD system) in tandem with a public policy, at times with sophisticated techniques which analyze components, measuring reach and results, suggesting causes of obstacles linked to implementation as a base for new stages/restructuring of the programmes: cases of CONOCER in Mexico; Chilecalifica in Chile. For example: an evaluation of the IADB on the system of tax exemption in Chile (main training policy instrument in this country). In the study it is suggested that this presents flaws which do not contribute towards toning down the negative external effects, product of the flaws in the market: 1) the tax exemption does not reach smaller companies; 2) the state incentive is insufficient to activate demand and offer of training; 3) the State limits the quantity of participants per training (20) as well as the hourly rate; 4) special cases, productive as well as regional, are not served; 5) the training mainly aims at soft competence: administration, customer service. Likewise, the training system is not linked to long term policies. And on the other hand, state intervention has not encouraged a training offer of quality, nor is work training and higher level technical training coordinated (Rucci, 2010). But apart from empirical valuable data provided by evaluations, they are also a political issue. The political nature of the evaluations is interestingly put into play in the example of the SENA in Colombia where there was a change in the focus of the TVET policies and in particular around the role of the national institution. From around 2005 the SENA caused an interesting debate on its impact and the reasons for which the studies presented uneven results. The case is the following: Studies on the impact of the actions of the SENA dating from the nineties but published at the beginning of 2000 do not recognize the significant impact of its training actions (for example, Núñez and Medina, 2005). Later studies show evidence of positive and satisfactory results. The report carried out in Colombia provides two possible explanations for the results, contrasting with previous studies. On one hand, it could be owing to the recent impulse provided for the SENA which has enabled its actions to become more efficient . But also, this could be due to the different methodologies used to carry out the evaluations . In this sense, it should be stressed that the corpus of studies carried out most recently firmly justify their methodologies and suggest that the studies are reliable and



conclusive results can be reached using them (and go beyond the contradictory results which studies carried out earlier). Obviously, the change in political strategy around the SENA in the nineties and in the present decade enables the studies to be placed in a larger context. Therefore, two key questions on the evaluations are: What were the aims? In general, to know and restructure, set down bases for the restructuring of actions. Although, not only that. To what extent do political deciders, stakeholders and planners make interventions more dynamic by reintroducing the provisions of the elaborated contributions, as Abdala suggests? One should wonder to what extent the corpus of detected evaluations run “the danger of turning evaluation into a ‘mechanism of information that allows us to discover only what was foreseen a priori’, as is often said. It turns out to be a difficult question to answer without knowing the political and institutional contexts in which the evaluations were carried out. Nevertheless, while data was collected with methodological thoroughness on the relation between aims/products; on the development of components; outstanding issues and obstacles in its realization, taking into account a wide variety of factors, they constitute pieces of knowledge and provide data and reflection for decision making in public policy. They provide reflection on their effectiveness and possible improvement. All of this while recognizing that no evaluation is ever neutral. Another issue is what the uses of the results of the evaluation are. 4. Academic research: Problems dealt with and new approaches The academic research examined usually questions the adequacy between educative levels, offer of training and the inclusion in the word of work, giving rise to discussion of the theory of human capital. The segmentation of markets and devaluation of diplomas appear as great scenarios of the limits of the capacity to influence the education and training in the work transition of youngsters. They do not expect linear relations to be developed as the world of work and the world of educative institutions already respond to different logics . Although there is recognition of structural aspects in the construction of educative and work opportunities, three levels of analysis in the work transition of youngsters can be classified as innovative and can be emphasized: a) the logics of actions of subjects, b) the institutions as the place where the implementation of programmes and/or policies are “constructed” and c) the network approach to local and sectorial links. The aim of research is often towards understanding the tension between these logics. We will visit some examples of academic work, some approaches/input which have made a contribution to the richness of the way of looking at the problems of young people’s work inclusion in the last decade. As an example of the importance of a network approach to local linkages between youth and the world of work, an academic paper detected in Mexico attaches particular importance to the understanding of the education-work network in the framework of the type of local development. Effectively, the relation between education and work are placed time and spacewise and these coordinates turn out to be fundamental in the study (Ibarrola, 2000). Among their many findings it is questioned whether greater expansion of education brings improvement to work conditions and income. In fact, the case shows that traditional and handcraft characteristics of the sector studied (and the structural reasons for the remain of traditional patterns of production) have a greater influence than the extension of basic schooling or training for work in positions, ranks and in the income of young workers of either sex working in the shoe industry. Another group of academic papers picks up on the approach of institutional case studies (which have a long tradition in Latin american’s research) but in the light of the implementation of training programmes designed outside the institution. The institutional studies already had varied backgrounds in earlier decades and in papers collected in the present decade it can be seen that they especially helped to understand the conflicting logics in which the actors involved “construct” the action. It is particularly interesting to stress that they are papers which have studied training programmes not from an evaluative model to study its effectiveness alone as if it were a “black box” but to understand the “social construction” which is produced from the model to the actors and what happens in the area of the so-called “implementation”. The implementation is “constructed” by the social actors who participate in the different levels of development of the programme. In fact, a conflictive interaction is produced between the designed policies, the institutions and the actors. The studies collect evidence of



permanent tension between the technical nature of the implementation and the socio-political and cultural conditions where it develops. For example, two research papers deal with the case of the “Projoven” programme in Uruguay . The model of intervention is studied and how different types of training centres “redefine” their profile based on the institutional logics (Albada, 2008; Jacinto, 2009). The first paper focuses on the dynamics of networks of interaction: entrepreneurial and union, NGOs and government agencies, that is the intervening actors from 1996-2007. It stands out that the interaction is characterized by stability and shared commitment, added to this; clear rules which facilitated structuring and predictability of the behaviour. On the other hand, the development of each organization is independent, there is no demand for specific occupational profiles and the training decisions are in the hands of each body. However, fundamentally, one axis is the backbone of the programme: that its state of being an institution remains in a tripartite organism with budget independence from the state. The second study argues that the continuity of Projoven (decade and a half) is due to the fact that it has been the only programme which – in its consolidation stage – offered short work training, showing itself to be a kind of mechanism with positive results even in periods of high unemployment: it provided legitimacy in the light of the tripartite body (companies, unions, state) which finances it. The permanence of the programme benefited sustainability of training institutions which included it within their continuous strategies of intervention although the relationships between the unit of general management of the programme and the bodies were still logics in tension. Another example are two studies in Colombia which, based on interviews with teachers and other primary sources, examines the coordination programme between the SENA and academic secondary schools (Gómez Campos et al., 2009b, Celis Giraldo y Díaz Ríos, 2010). The papers describe the process of coordination and point out that “adaptation” by the schools to the SENA programmes (even adapting their institutional Project) is required. In this sense, coordination does not begin with the needs themselves of the schools but the impulse coming from the organism which has attempted to increase their registration by incorporating secondary school students (secondary school students are counted as SENA students). The coordination is produced “vertically” and the teachers show little motivation to be trained as they do not receive payment or higher points for this “extra” task. Added to this, the management of practices in companies (a component of coordination) is carried out in the same schools or even with the same youngsters so questioning the pedagogic benefit of this experience. Another group of innovating contributions can be found in the field of the studies of subjectivities. The role of the subjects, the subjective meanings of the action and/or the youth trajectories has come up as a subject of its own of post-modernity. How youngsters build their own training and work trajectories in the framework of social and biographic determiners and how much this must be taken into account to understand their training and work strategies has provided new input towards the understanding of the relations between education and work. The biographic, school and work trajectories are excellent instruments to examine the experiences of subjects (and the youth transitions) in the contexts both macro-structural as well as institutional in which they develop, enabling evidence to be provided for the formulation of what has come to be known as “policies of subjectivity”. Among the examples of this type of work the papers of Sepúlveda in Chile, Guerra in México and to a certain extent Marrero in Uruguay, could be mentioned. Linked to this type of study but in fact, concerned with the “meanings” of the action there is another series of papers. It vindicates a wide concept of “work” and in particular, the area of work training outside technical education and traditional and institutionalized professional training. It is concerned with work training oriented towards marginal sectors. It refers particularly to the rural area where the work of non-governmental organizations has been very intense. This perspective can be defined like this: “When asking about “employability”, stable or precarious work inclusion, effectiveness, especially the effectiveness of strategies, the achievements and limitations of programmes, it is necessary to first ask the question on the meaning of work, on the new links between meaningful participation, education and work, between written culture and work, between subjects, social group and work” (Messina, Pieck y Castañeda, 2008). They point out that far from the demands of the formal labour market, “in the area of informal work, the knowledge required is closely related to everyday life. In the framework of the informal sector of the economy, work training does more for people’s productive activities, for their survival strategies and for their capacity to reinvent life, leading to new jobs, changes seemingly fragile but at the same time ones which bear the passing of time” (Idem, P.



21) This perspective takes up the old Latin American tradition of “popular education”, setting out the need for the significance of learning for subjects. Research on these lines leans strongly towards the voice of the subjects themselves, their history and experience. Final reflections This article analyses the main tendencies in the production of knowledge of a particular sub-field within the studies on education and work. Going back to what was stated in the introduction: “It specifically refers to the development of skills in youngsters in the area of formal education (mainly technical secondary school) as well as vocational training and training programmes. Within this sub-field, a more specific area has been separated: the one that refers to documents which examine the processes of development of policies and/or SD programmes and their impact in a wider sense”. It is important to emphasize these specific areas as the field of production of knowledge of education and work “generally” is much wider. At the same time, the research involves only a specific area in geographic terms as it only refers to the countries and general papers selected which despite covering more than 80 pieces of work many others have been left out. The corpus as well as papers products of consultants, evaluations such as studies based on secondary data (statistics or other research) and academic research have been included as all of them apart from their differences have all made a contribution towards the knowledge of the subject, especially concerning recent policies, new institutional models and/or new approaches as well as regarding social process of building programs and/or youth transitions. With such a focus, it is to say that there are not many systematic studies which allow to arrive at findings based on solid empirical evidence. There exist even less studies concerning comparisons between countries. Analyzing the corpus, several questions arise: To what extent are the documents directed to create inputs for policy making on SD? Are they aimed to study or evaluate policies? Beyond that, do they provide input for this? What are the dialogues established between empirical research and decision-making in the different policies of SD? Certainly, as shown in this paper, a first answer concerns the institutional context in which each study was elaborated. Evaluations are especially designed to contribute to the assessment and/or for feedback of policies or programmes. Even though, we have indicated their technical or political constraints. It is worth noting that a part of the research reviewed have been promoted through contests by the ministries of education, particularly in Chile and Mexico. The aim of contributing to policies is also explicit in the studies supported by international organizations such as UNESCO. This means that there are signs of agreement between the researcher and the policy making at least on the formulation of applied research questions. But it can not be assured that it is a means to improving the capacity of those engaged in policy dialogue to learn from the findings generated by research. Policies and research have their own agendas and it is legitimate for that to be so, although the research findings are desirable inputs for policy planning. At the same time, some progress have been made towards mechanisms for the generation of knowledge on TVET such as surveys for graduates follow-up studies, implemented by government agencies, which provide good data on job insertion of technicians. The provision of these responses in the context of the economic recovery of the region during the 2000s, turned to be a key question to provide inputs for the planning of TVET reforms. However, apart from follow up studies carried out by some well-known VTI's, such studies have not been included as permanent policies for secondary and tertiary levels in most of the cases studied. Although some studies could be detected, the research on youth employment in the informal sector has not been a frequent subject of research. The specific study of certain sectors of activity and the knowledge and competencies involved in each occupational sector, is not a frequent subject of academic research in our corpus. In the same sense, an in-depth analysis of formal and non-formal education linkages and their impact on youth strategies and trajectories (and at community level) is not available in the corpus reviewed.



From a general point of view, the predominance of exploratory or descriptive approaches or evaluative models of the income-product type enables certain findings to be highlighted but it is not sufficient to carry out strong empirical evidence which could be used for decision making. It could also be held that in the group of research on social and educative subjects, systematic and systemic research linking youngsters to the TVET is scarce. For example, there are studies on institutions and actors, but a subject to be further researched (although there are exceptions, as we have seen) are these complex and multidimensional processes that implies systemic approaches on policies: relationships between discourse and action (at central, local, institutional levels), as well as the ways policies are re-created in educational institutions by the actors responsible for implement them at schools. A hypothesis could be held that remaining in the area of the intersection between the social studies of the world of work, education and youth, the problems, object of this state of the art do not seem to convene the most in terms of the individual and group special interests of the researchers settled in academic institutions and/or the national systems of research. It is worth asking oneself about the socio-historic, contextual and institutional reasons which lead to a relative relevance of these subjects of research. However, obviously the formulation of policies is also usually far from the logics of decision-making based on empirical evidence. Sometimes the lack of research is not regretted: in many cases the adoption of a policy model or strategy is based only on political perspectives and reasons. As Gallart (2008) said the policies change in successive governments and there’s a difficulty in linking up interventions and evaluating outcomes in the middle and long term. The legitimacy itself of the policies seems to depend little on that base of support. Even more, in some cases evaluations and even research are conceived as sources of legitimization of actions and not as technically different ethic spaces. As it was said in previous papers, the “evidence based policies in SD” label is hardly realistic but some progresses have been made towards mechanisms for the generation of knowledge on the field. Annex 1: References Abdala, E. 2009. “La evaluación de los programas de capacitación laboral para jóvenes en Sudamérica”. En: Papeles de Población, 15(59). Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México Toluca. pp. 11-82. http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/112/11205902.pdf Aldaba, J. A. 2008. Con la mirada en lo público: una aproximación desde las redes de la política al Programa Projoven. Montevideo: Universidad de la Republica de Uruguay. Álvarez, L. y Pérez de Lao, C. 2005. "Evaluación y certificación de competencias laborales en México el caso de las dependencias del gobierno federal". En: Revista de la Facultad de Contaduría y Administración, UNAM, Nº 216 p.14-34 Analítica Consultores. 2006. Estudio sobre la Evaluación del Programa de Apoyo al Empleo, Secretaria de Trabajo y Previsión Social, Gobierno de México. Barato, J. 2009. (in press). Educação técnica y tecnologica pos-secundaria. Tendências, enfoques e desafios no Brasil. Paris: IIEP-UNESCO Baquero Melo, J. 2005. ¿Quienes tienen mayores posibilidades de colocarse?, análisis empírico con base en información del servicio público de empleo de Bogotá. Bogotá: Observatorio Laboral y Ocupacional Colombiano. Briasco, I. 2009. “Trends in technical and vocational education and training in Latin America”. En: Jacinto, C. (Comp.) Recent trends in technical education in Latin America, Paris: IIEP-UNESCO (pp. 43-76)



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Weller, J. 2006. “Inserción laboral de jóvenes: expectativas, demanda laboral y trayectorias”. En: Boletín Redetis 2, Buenos Aires:redEtis.IIPE.UNESCO. Weller, J. 2006. “Inserción laboral de jóvenes. Expectativas, demanda laboral y trayectorias”. En: Girardo, C.; Ibarrola, M.; Jacinto, C. y Mochi, P. (coord.) Estrategias educativas y formativas para la inserción social y productiva. Montevideo: Cinterfor. OIT (Herramientas para la transformación, 31). Weller, J. 2008. “Oportunidades y obstáculos. Las características de la inserción laboral juvenil en economías en expansión”. En: Revista de Trabajo,4(6). Annex II Research subjects according to country Chile The running of education, training and technical training in Chile is currently in a process of revision and transformation which began in the mid 1990s. The papers refer to the curricular reform of the methods of the Technical Secondary School which began to be implemented in 1998 as well as the creation of the Chile Qualifies Programme (Programa Chilecalifica) in 2002. More recently the documents mentioned the creation of the National Commission on Certification of Work Skills in 2009 which establishes the base of the National System of Certification of Work Skills. Chile stands out for having collected a large amount of research on SD policies, particularly in the field of evaluations, including ChileCalifica as a whole. A recurring theme in the surveyed work refers to the possibilities, problems and challenges of education and training in work skills: what roles and responsibilities affects companies and the state? What coordination is there between education and the labour market? How are the changes introduced reflected in educative institutions and graduates’ careers? What deficits are seen at management and implementation level, for example, in the relationships with companies? Another subject studied is the technical tertiary level. The huge array of the Centers of Technical Training, CTT (Centros de Formación Tecnica) degree courses reflect the failings in the system of technical vocational training in the wider sense as well as the absence of systematic revision to enable orientation and regulation of the training market in the sector. In this context, the support of a training system at a technical level is largely associated with personal decisions and the capacity of the actors’ agency to design a training itinerary and not with the existence of institutional policies (particularly coordination with secondary schools). In the same way, the perception of the youngsters and their families is that university degree courses imply better work and income expectations than the CTT courses. As far as vocational training is concerned, the papers examine specific programmes aimed at sectors of lesser resources such as general aspects of the tax allowance policy. It is very clear that it is the companies who decide in what, who and with whom to train work wise, while the function of the national organism, the SENCE, mainly focuses on administrative processes. This programme has a positive evaluation in so far as it allows permanent training of those who work as employees. The flexibility of the system is questioned as it no longer contributes towards generating a supply of quality training nor is the work training and technical training at a higher level aligned. Colombia The papers can be classified in three groups. The first includes those whose subject is the different actions of work training implemented by the SENA (where the evaluations of impact predominate). These papers are linked by a common theme: the growing expansion of the actions and range of the SENA, encouraged by the strategic plans of 2002-2006 and 2007-2010 which aim for the SENA to be positioned as a national organization of knowledge. From this perspective the evaluations aim to



provide reliable information on the impact which the above organism has been producing on the population which would be benefited. A second group is made up of those papers whose subject is secondary school teaching and particularly technical secondary school and the recent tendency of secondary school establishments to work in tandem with the SENA. The subject which links these papers (which are totally academic research papers) is critical analysis, the false dichotomy between academic and technical schools as well as the “verticalist” perspective with which the SENA coordinates schools which shows evidence of actions of improvised suture at a level which does not guarantee the continuity of the studies or access to the world of work by its graduates. A third group (more heterogeneous) includes papers which specifically analyze work training programmes aimed at youngsters. These are academic research papers as well as consultancy and impact evaluation. The subject which links these studies is the integral approach and focuses on the vulnerable population as well as the particularity of women and rural youngsters and programmes to encourage ventures. Uruguay A group of papers referring to policies and programmes which offer different types of vocational training, particularly in the area of the Ministry of Labour, were found. The group of evaluations is elaborated through different approaches and techniques in the framework of the above programmes including graduate follow-up and impact on employability. More than that, some research work contributes with studies about the place of the programme in the framework of national training policies and about the conflictive relationships among actors that participate at different levels in the programme.. The latter show positive factors in the interventions and alongside this and from a wider viewpoint, they are questioned about new issues to be taken into account in order to expand their potential. In this way, a paper examines a VT panorama in the framework of the creation of the Institute of Training and Employment (Instituto de Formación y Empleo) in 2010. Another smaller group of papers refers to descriptive and analytical aspects linked to the secondary school educative system and its relationship with the world of work. From the academic field, a paper points out selective aspects of the world of work where socio-economic and even attitudes (social and personal skills) as well as entrepreneurial strategies are key in order to understand the secondary school – work market relationship. In spite of everything, the secondary school diploma is valued by students and by business people mainly due to the general culture in which it is transmitted. Another paper studies the delegations of agents of the world of work when faced with the profile of secondary school graduates making a critical point about the functioning of secondary schools. A recent study on youth trajectories into the labour market provides new evidence about this matter. Mexico A first theme of work analyses the tension in the relationship education-work, either from a theoretical standpoint or supported in empirical research. The theoretical essay sets out the need to create education and training not only for employment, it is to be integrated for an integral technological culture of the new workers nowadays and to know more about the specifics of the different segments of the job market in the country and the region. In this way, through local case studies, another two research papers deal with the relationship between the educative system and the job market. A larger group of papers refers to processes and subjectivities of youngsters in work training experiences outside the school environment, oriented to the informal sector. Another group examines perspectives of youngsters on technical education on different levels (secondary school and technical high secondary school, including a study of graduates on a national level). It is examined how positive its significant presence is, in careers, expectations as well as the meaning that is acquired by the participants. On the other hand, it points out the shortcomings which affect potential opportunities. Some papers deal with the processes of “skill certification” question the functioning of the system since its institutionalization (CONOCER) in 1994. Examining the programme before its reformulation, it points out questioning different aspects of its design and implementation, particularly



the roles and responsibility of the evaluation centres and the assessors; the lack of evaluation of the performance of qualified persons; the difficulties of the processes of certification and the reluctance of companies in the process. Other papers more specifically approach productive sectors, generally pointing out the distance between the requirements of the sectors and the training. Brazil Among the papers examined, three main subjects stand out: First of all, the restructuring of the professional technical education that promoted “integrated secondary schools” as of 2003. A group of papers emphasize the importance of this reform as from its conception it has provided youngsters with a polytechnic education worthy of their professional development. Nevertheless, the problem of the implementation of real integration between secondary school and vocational training is also pointed out as it requires the appropriate norms and a corresponding curricular organization. Another milestone of the restructuring was the creation of the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology (Institutos Federales de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología). A study points out the positive effects of the training both in work inclusion as well as in the continuity of the studies, showing the efficiency of the “verticalization” strategy of the professional technical education. However, it also points out aspects to study deeper such as the links with companies and the possibility for students to carry out internships. Secondly, emerges the Education of Young People and Adults and the efforts to work in tandem with vocational training. The vulnerability of the population that attends this level is dealt with and the particular challenges in vocational training of this population are pointed out. The papers emphasize the value of general education and work training (not only specific) so social inequality is not mechanically reproduced. At the same time, taking away the accountability of the State on the availability of the vocational training which takes place in some specific programmes is also questioned. Highlighted, is the value of the Proeja programme which aims at providing quality vocational training from an integral training conception. Thirdly, the evaluation of professional education at different levels, mainly the actions of the System “S”. These papers share interest in showing the value of public opinion of organisms and the effects of different training programmes as well as their pertinence based on the character of the job market. In this sense, the papers do not only analyze the work performance of the graduates (through follow up studies) but the perspectives of the companies who hire workers trained in the organisms as well. Also, in this period a national survey on graduates from federal technical schools was carried out by the Ministry of Education. Subjects of research in regional work A few pieces of work stand out (authors such as Gallart, de Ibarrola, Weller, Jacinto, Briasco, Weinberg, Vera, Vargas), they focus on the presentation/comparison of several national cases and have some features in common apart from their differences: a) they propose wider descriptive-analytical aims considering regional tendencies and/or the countries examined as a whole in TVET or at a particular educative level; b) they use secondary statistical data, in some cases starting from special processing and also use case studies as methodology; c) they are financed by international credit organisms or by multilateral organisms or bi-lateral cooperation; d) they point out the range/limitations of policies particularly bearing in mind the productive/economic heterogeneities of the region.



ANNEXE III: FROM RECONSTRUCTION TO DECONSTRUCTION – THE ROLE OF RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICAN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Lesley Powell and Peliwe Lolwana Paper prepared for ADEA 2012 Triennale, Burkina Faso, 12-17 February 2012

1. INTRODUCTION Skills development is core to the socio-economic development strategy of post-apartheid South Africa. The Skills Development Act of 1998 established a radical and far reaching approach to education and training (RSA, 1998 amended in 2008). Monitored and implemented through the National Skills Development Strategies (NSDS I, II and III) it calls for an improvement in the quantity, quality and relevance of education and training in order that it might increase economic competitiveness and improve the quality of life of all South Africans. Established against the backdrop of apartheid which was characterised by a low skills equilibrium, unequal access to education, large scale unemployment, widespread poverty and a highly unequal distribution of income, it also aims to promote social and economic inclusion by expanding access and widening participation in a transformed education and training system (Department of Labour, 2005). The South African skills development strategy contains five core elements. 1. The establishment of a co-ordinated institutional and financial framework to improve training

delivery and co-ordination at sectoral and national levels. This framework comprises a number of institutions including the following: (i) The National Skills Authority, formed by restructuring the previous National Training Board, developed to assist in the strategic co-ordination and the development of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS). (ii) Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) established to assist enterprises and industries formulate and implement training plans, to link plans to other strategic objectives and to facilitate access to available subsidies. (iii) The National Skills Fund, credited with 20% of skills development levies, to provide the budget allocation to SETAs. (iv) The South African Qualifications Authority to enable qualification transfer.

2. An effective partnership between government and the private sector for the funding of skills

development and for provision of aspects of education and training. A national levy-grant was established in the hope that work-based training would be incentivised. It requires that employers pay a payroll-based training levy with levy payments offset against grants to employers for training costs in defined areas. A system of learnerships to link education and work experience in a structured approach that leads to registered qualifications within the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

3. Information for strategic planning to ensure that labour market information is adequately

collected, analysed and disseminated within a National Skills Planning Cycle so that education and training needs can be identified and acted upon.

4. Employment services to improve guidance and placement services that match workers to jobs,

gives advice on support, assists with social plans to deal with mass retrenchments and helps vulnerable groups access the labour market.

5. Enhanced education provision to achieve high quality training provision through a responsive,

cost-effective and accountable publically funded education system. The Skills Development Act established a single regulatory framework which on the demand side consists of the National Skills Authority and 23 SETAs. On the supply side are education institutions, both public and private, which provides schooling at schools (Grades R to 9) and Further Education and Training (FET) at either schools (Grades 10 to 12) or at FET colleges for Vocational Education and Training (VET) (National Curriculum Vocational 1 – 3) and higher education at universities. The goal being to facilitate access to high quality education and training and to enable mobility and transfer through the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (Allais, 2003). An underlying principle



for post compulsory schooling is to bring together the supply and demand aspects of skills development in a manner that addresses the mismatch in the South African labour market between high levels of unemployment (particularly youth unemployment) existing at the same time as skill shortages (Bhorat, 2008; Daniels, 2007) with a large number of jobs at higher and technical skill levels remaining vacant for many years while organisations struggle to recruit employees with suitable skills.

2. Periodisation of skills development research This paper discusses the last two decades of research on skills development in South Africa. It draws on the conceptualisation put forward by the HSRC (2004) which views human resource development as entailing several stages in the life cycle of the human including ‘the transition to school’, ‘the transition from school and first-time entry into the labour market’, ‘traversing the labour market throughout working life’ and ‘exiting the labour market’ (Kraak, 2004: 1). The focus of this paper is on the third phase, ‘the transition from school and first-time entry into the labour market’. The paper describes knowledge production in South African skills development across three key periods. The first, called the Period of Reconstruction, refers to the period between 1994 to 2002 which marked the design of the post-apartheid skills development legislation and the structures and institutions supporting such. The second, called Early Critique, refers roughly to the period between 2002 to 2009 which saw the beginnings of critical study towards aspects of the skills development legislation, predominantly targeted at the effectiveness with which the skills development legislation had been implemented and of structures and institutions established within this framework. The third period, called Deconstruction – A New Moment, marks the period from 2009 to the present with researchers beginning to challenge and unpack the assumptions on which the skills development structures and institutions are built. An important impetus for this new moment was the establishment in 2009 of a new Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) which has higher education, further education and work-based skills contained in its mandate (Mcgrath, 2010). The periodization which we put forward for skills development research in South Africa draws from the nomenclature developed by Muller (1999). This is particularly so for the conceptualisation of the first phase, the Period of Reconstruction. In his discussion of knowledge production in education in the 1990s, Muller (1999) distinguishes between the role played by intellectuals in the South African liberation movement which he terms ‘critique’ and the role played by intellectuals in developing South Africa’s post-apartheid education policy which he calls ‘reconstruction’. Muller (1999) bases this distinction on the relationship between the state and intellectuals with researchers involved in ‘critique’ of the apartheid state prior to 1994 and in ‘reconstruction’ of the new democracy post 1994. Drawing from the nomenclature of ‘critique’ and ‘reconstruction’ he argues that the way in which intellectuals place themselves in relation to these two quite oppositional and polarised roles depends on the “structure of the intellectual field and its relationship to the field of power in any historical conjunction” (Muller, 1999: p.117). The relationship of researchers in skills development to the field of power is a theme underpinning the periodisation selected and the discussion provided in this paper. The polarisation between ‘critique’ and ‘reconstruction’ was sensible for Muller’s work as he was discussing the field of power during apartheid where the battle lines were drawn between those who were either pro the apartheid state and those who were pro the liberation movement and fighting against the apartheid state. Intellectual voices in the latter category were largely excluded by their commitments to the liberation movement from contributing to the development of education policies during the apartheid era. In a period of democracy, the two decades on which this paper focusses, these divisions are potentially more fluid with researchers engaged in some moments of their career in critique and in others in reconstruction and sometimes in both at the same time. The division between voices included in discussion with the state and those excluded are also more fluid. A researcher or research institution may be included in one period and could in another period be excluded. This is another theme underpinning this paper, as the paper shows that research institutions and individuals involved in skills development research during one period where not necessarily involved in other periods. Underlying Muller’s work is the belief which this paper shares, that educational research can and does make a contribution. This contribution is through the direct exchange of research findings but also and mainly through dialogue which allows for the expansion of concepts and for the development of conceptual frameworks through which we view and understand our skills development system and the



implications – intended or unintended – of the policies that we’ve developed. A key aspect of the periodization is the different contributions that research in skills development has made in South Africa in the different periods.

3. Aspects not addressed The space of this paper compels an emphasis on breadth of coverage, but this comes at the cost of important aspects related to research in the area of skills development. First of these aspects is the legacy of the racially divided and highly stratified education and training sector inherited by the post-apartheid government. Initiated by the discovery of minerals in South Africa in the early 19th century, South Africa’s skills development approach is strongly shaped by its colonial and apartheid history. Redressing the legacies of this past was the challenge of post-apartheid South Africa and continues as a challenge to the current government in that this legacy pervades the structure of the labour market, divisions in quality in educational provision with the stratification between rich and poor continuing to follow the contours of apartheid and this despite an array of legislation and social support to address these distortions. The space of this paper disallows a detailed discussion of the effects of South Africa’s political, social and cultural history on skills development today. Should the reader wish, useful accounts are provided by Kallaway (1984 and 1997), McGrath (1996) and Badroodien (2004). Critical for this paper are three aspects. (i) A key factor was the stratified and racially defined education system which preserved the best education institutions for White South Africans and provided at best third rate educational institutions for black South Africans. (ii) The racial segmentation of the labour market which limited black people to low paid employment through job reservation and residential segregation in an economy experiencing low growth and an over reliance on primary production. (iii) The skills mismatch between labour demand and labour supply which continues to co-exist with large scale and increasing unemployment, particularly youth unemployment existing at the same as skills shortages in key areas. Second is the importance of research undertaken prior to the first democratic elections in 1994. While the focus of this paper is on research undertaken post-apartheid, it is important to note that the policy strands that shape and mark skills development in South Africa and the debates and tensions therein has a longer history. This history includes the work produced in what Padayachee (1998) refers to as ‘South Africa’s decade of liberation’ which was defined by a close working relationship between the social movement for liberation, the African National Congress (ANC), and progressive academics (albeit not without it’s tensions – see Muller, 1999 and Padayachee, 1989). For the demand side, an important milestone in the ANC’s thinking about post-apartheid economic policy was the discussions held at the 1986 University of York conference titled, ‘The South African Economy after Apartheid’ with selected papers published in the book ‘After Apartheid: The Renewal of the South African economy’ (Padayachee, 1989: p. 435). This was followed by a number of conferences held outside of South Africa where progressive academics met with and debated the future policy trajectory of South Africa (Padayachee, 1989). Within South Africa, this interaction occurred in policy research networks and through think-tanks set up to produce policy recommendations for post-apartheid South Africa. These think tanks included the Economic Research Trends Group initiated by the Congress of South African Trade Unions in 1986 which was to formulate economic policy for post-apartheid South Africa and the Industrial Strategy Policy based at the Universities of Cape Town and the Witwatersrand which included discussion on firm based training. The National Education Policy Initiative (NEPI), established by the National Education Co-ordinating Committing (NECC), was launched in the early 1990s to produce an analysis of education options for post-apartheid South African and their implications in all the major areas of education policy including what was then termed as human resource development and post-secondary education. In an environment where progressive academics were steeped in critique but had no experience in policy formation and against the backdrop of the democratic liberation movement which resisted the undemocratic and exclusionary policies of the apartheid government, a key aspect was to stimulate “debate and discussion” by bringing “more views, interests, and forces to bear upon the policy-making process” (NEPI, 1993, p.8). NEPI drew strongly on the then Education Policy Units which were formed in the late 1980s by the NECC to provide a scholarly context for the development of post-apartheid education policy. The time was one of democratic inclusion, including intellectual inclusion, with the aim being to widen and extend participation in the debate and discussion.



Third is the racial and gender distribution of knowledge production in South Africa and equally so in the area of research related to skills development which was skewed in the early 1990s towards White academics and White male academics. Of particular concern for the present is that this gender and racial imbalance in the research community has only marginally shifted over the past two decades. The skills development sector on the supply side has a predominantly black student body. The FET colleges are 88% black with 75% African, 7% Coloured and 2% Indian (Powell and Hall, 2004) and 89% of learnership students are black with 73% African, 13% Coloured and 3% Indian (Powell, 2007). Whilst participation rates of African and Coloured students in the university system are still low, the enrolment rates of both groups are beginning to shift, increasing the bulk of African and Coloured students who are in higher education. The continued racial imbalance in the research community has implications not only for the topics researched but also for the way in which they are researched as the language and racial divide between researchers (mainly white) and students (mainly black) undermines qualitative studies, particularly those which demand in-depth student interviews and adopt an interpretivist stance such as life narrative approaches. The paper discusses the structure of the research enterprise in skills development and the way in which this has served to reinforce and disenable the growth of a community of researchers and particularly, a community of black researchers.

4. Period of Reconstruction – 1994 to 2002 The research work undertaken after the election of the first democratic government (between the period 1994 to 2002) focused initially on understanding the structures and systems that existed in apartheid’s manpower system and thereafter on developing policy recommendations for a single, co-ordinated skills development system. Much of this work was undertaken by the National Business Initiative (NBI), a non-profit organisation funded mainly by large corporates which aims to contribute to the social and economic development of South Africa; the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), a parastatal research organisation which aims to support transformation in South Africa through research; the Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU) based at the University of Cape Town and to a lesser extent by the Joint Education Trust (JET), a non-government agency located in Johannesburg. The Education Policy Units which were integrally involved in the development of South Africa’s post-apartheid policy were only marginally involved in skills development research during this period. One aspect for this was the loss of capacity from the Education Policy Units and the universities more widely with researchers recruited to undertake positions in government. The then Minister of Education, for example, was drawn from the University of KwaZulu Natal, the Director of the Human Resources Division at the HSRC from the University of the Western Cape and the Director of the division at the NBI which undertook the work into FET colleges from the EPU based at the University of the Western Cape. Another was the emphasis of the EPUs on Higher Education and schooling. The research undertaken in this period, with few exceptions, privileged quantitative methodologies and when qualitative methods were utilised these eschewed interpretivist approaches in favour of descriptive 'hard data' on which policy could be built. All the research was funded either directly by government, or by donors and businesses working in partnership with government, and aimed to help the Departments of Education and Labour implement the FET and Skills Development Acts and related policies such as the Skills Development Levies Act. The focus was on developing indicators that would function as a baseline against which the transformation of the sector could be measured. This resulted in the research privileging applied approaches above theoretical studies (Mcgrath, 2008) and quantitative above qualitative approaches.

5. Supporting policy development The development of management systems to replace the differentiated and segregated management systems of apartheid was an important initial task for post-apartheid South Africa to achieve a single, coordinated system. The management information systems (MIS) inherited from apartheid was inadequate to the task. Segregated across racial groups, and across the prior homelands and South Africa, it ignored information on black South Africans and neglected important efficiency indicators. A key task for South Africa’s first democratically elected government was to develop information systems on the supply side from schools, higher education and further education and on the demand



side from enterprises. On the flip side, and equally important, was the need to develop institutional management systems that could provide the data required at sector and at enterprise level. The goal was to establish an MIS that could inform the National Skills Planning Cycle which allowed for target and goal setting through the National Skills Development Strategies (NSDS) which was to be followed by periods of monitoring and review. Thus far NSDS I and II have been produced and NSDS III was released in 2010. Skills reports from SETAs On the demand side, a key aspect of government’s information for planning purpose is provided by the Sector Skills Plans (SSPs) which are collated at sector level by the SETAs and provided as an annual SSP to national government. SSPs exist as one key step in the National Skills Planning Cycle and also in each sector’s Skills Planning Cycle. The SSP has three main purposes: (i) to provide data to strategically plan skills development; (ii) to provide an annual opportunity to monitor progress in skills development and (iii) to develop with key stakeholders a collective vision and strategy for skills development. SSPs are collated from enterprise level Work Place Skills Plans (WPSP) submitted to the SETA by all enterprises in the sector. The Work Place Skills Plans (WPSP) provides information on the training provided by the enterprise for its employees in the previous 12 months, the predicted training requirements for the forthcoming year and critical skills shortages. The development of SSPs, while a useful source of information and a key aspect of the National Skills Planning Cycle, is beset with problems. The first and biggest problem rests in the limited capacity available to analyse and manage the large database of WSP that SETAs receive. Compounding this is the difficulty of articulation between the data management systems of enterprises and that of SETAs. Murock et al (2008) argue that while SETAs are on a ‘positive trajectory’; these problems continue and are a result of the “SETAs and the Skills Development System [being] at a critical [and early] stage of institutionalisation” (Murock et al, 2008: p.2). Another, and probably more important concern is that SSPs provide a collated listing of training needs and skill shortages and therefore are compelled to generalise critical skill shortages and training needs. A criticism from education and training providers is that these reports have been generalised to the point where they not useful for designing education and training responses to these needs. Nonetheless, and despite these problems, the SSPs have made a huge contribution to data collection on sector skills needs. Daniels (2007) makes the point that this data provides essential information on the relationship between “micro (firm) level data, sectoral aggregation via the Sector Skills Plans, and the national aggregation” and by so doing “represents a highly coherent framework for (firm-level) data collection that facilitates both the analysis and implementation of policy” (Daniels, 2007: p.5). As argued by Daniels (2007), without the data from the SSPs and WSPs much secondary analysis would not have been possible. The learnership study undertaken in 1997, for example, utilised the SETA databases to compile a database of learnership graduates (Powell, 2007) and Atmore E. (2001) utilised the SSPs to provide an assessment of the training needs of early childhood development practioners. Further Education and Training colleges A central component of the supply side of the skills development strategy is the provision of intermediate to higher level skills through Vocational Education and Training (VET). Here the public FET colleges have a critical role to play. Constituted formally in 2002 with the declaration of 50 colleges formed by merging the former 152 technical colleges with colleges of education and skills centres, the sector exists at the cross roads between school, higher education and the world of work. It has as its remit the task of providing intermediate to higher level skills that respond to the training needs of the global economy whilst simultaneously providing access to learners from disadvantaged backgrounds (Fisher, et al, 2003). In addition to, and overlapping with the above, it is to train for entrepreneurial work and the skills shortages existing within local economies and the country as a whole (Badrodien and Kraak, 2006). Between 1998 and 2004 the NBI managed the Colleges Collaboration Fund, a R120 million business funded project (although in partnership with government) that aimed to support the Department of Education with the transformation of technical colleges into FET college sector. Research was a key part of the work of the Colleges Collaboration Fund which included situational analyses of the Technical Colleges in each of the nine provinces except Kwazulu Natal which was undertaken by the



HSRC (Kraak and Hall, 1997). These studies included qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative components drew on focus group interviews held with the college management teams, teaching staff and students and compared the current status of the technical colleges with the requirements of the FET Act and determined their capacity for transformation (Fisher et al, 1998; Jaffe 2000a, 2000b, 2000c, 2000d). The quantitative component developed a set of key indicators to describe management and governance approaches, college partnerships, student and staff profiles and college infrastructure (Powell and Hall, 2000, 2002 and 2004). During the same period the HSRC undertook a tracer study of engineering graduates (Cosser, 2003). These applied research studies were essential for the development of the FET college sector as very little was known about the technical colleges which were to form the core of the sector. The only available information was provided by the De Lange Commission appointed by the apartheid government in the 1980s. This was particularly so for the Historically Black Technical Colleges that the De Lange Commission largely ignored and for which little statistical records were available. The research task was to service the transformation agenda by providing the information and statistics required to transform the racially divided and disparate Technical Colleges into a single co-ordinated FET college system. Together these reports painted a picture of narrow college provision with over 80% enrolled in two programmatic fields: Engineering and Business Studies (Powell and Hall, 2000, 2002, 2004); provision of poor quality (Fisher et al, 1998; Kraak and Hall, 1999); limited capacity at management and teaching levels (Fisher and Jaff, 1998; Kraak and Hall, 1999) and institutions marked by racial and gender inequalities (Powell and Hall, 2000, 2002, 2004).

6. The neglect of academic research during this time Very little academic research was produced on skills development during this period. In the area of Vocational Education and Training (FET colleges in South Africa) a small number of Masters and Doctoral thesis were produced amounting, from a literature search on SABINET and QUEST, to less than ten in total. These thesis were produced at South African universities with the exception of one produced at the University of Edinburgh. These studies focused on topics related to the transformation of the skills sector by examining the Changing discourses in education and training (McGrath, 1996); the Repositioning of technical colleges within the transformation of education in South Africa (Van Der Merwe, 2000) and strategies for implementing aspects of the FET Act of 1998 such as the student support services and learning content. The exceptions, in terms of academic research, were in areas where skills development policies addressed the education and training sector as a whole and therefore had implications for schooling and higher education. For example, Outcomes Based Education (OBE), the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). Here criticisms from the academic community rested on concerns that the development approach adopted was defined within the market driven approach of neoliberalism which, researchers argue, would not result in the social inclusion and poverty alleviation aimed for. South Africa’s neglect of a more academic literature is explained partly by an understanding of the social conditions of educational knowledge production in South Africa in the 1990s and early 2000s. Muller (2000) shows that in the South African context, apartheid largely excluded the possibility of any engagement between the Apartheid State and progressive academics – ‘the road to the state was closed’ (Morphet, 1986 cited in Muller, 2000: p.118). Academics distanced themselves from the State with the “tenor of progressive educational politics in South Africa (being) that of oppositional politics since at least Soweto 1976 (and) for entirely understandable reasons” (Muller, 2000: p.18). The end of Apartheid saw a marked shift in position. The emphasis was now not on critiquing the Apartheid State, but on constructing a democratic State. “The slogan from critique to reconstruction was already a cliché. Everywhere, from every side, not only policy think-tanks but also non-governmental organisations and academics were being enjoined to leave aside ‘critique’ and to embrace ‘reconstruction’ (Chrisholm, 1992) … by 1992, ‘reconstruction’ had become serious business in South Africa” (Muller, 2000: p.123). The shift from critique to reconstruction changed the relationship of progressive South African academics with ‘the field of power’. There was little time and certainly no patience in this period for engagement with oppositional academia with the attitude being that, “there (was) serious work to be



done … people’s well-being depends upon it and the doubters must keep out of the way” (Muller, 2000: p.127). The relationship in South Africa of educational academics with the democratic state was (and to some extent still is) markedly different from the relationship which academics in many developed countries such as the United Kingdom have with the state. While the ‘progressives’ of South Africa struggled to ‘reconstruct’ a democratic society and worked in partnership with the State to achieve this, in the United Kingdom the battle lines between intellectual work and policy work were drawn (Young, 2007). So, while progressive British academics working in the area of skills development battled the state in the late 1990s and early 2000s South African progressives contributed to the development and implementation of South Africa’s skills revolution. Another reason for the limited research on skills development can be found in the size and shape of the research community. While researchers focussing on skills development existed as a small pool of researchers located outside of the research community at the few enterprises listed above, higher education had a stable research community based at a number of institutions including government departments, education faculties and university research units. This is even more so when compared to the research community dedicated to South African schooling that has a long and established research tradition. Unlike higher education and schooling, very little skills development research was (and currently is) undertaken by university academics. Mcgrath (2008), expressing concern at the research capacity available to FET, challenged the academic education community by asking, "what school or faculty of education deserves the name if it knows nothing about a part of education that serves well over a million students across the public and private components?”. His concern is supported at the international level by Winch (2000) who commented that "anyone interested in promoting (and understanding) vocational education is thought to be a philistine" (Winch, 2000: p1). Winch argues further, "that this view is a travesty, that our deepest concerns with moral and spiritual well-being are bound up with work, and that any education directed at the well-being of the vast majority who are not going to live the life of the country gentry of yesteryear needs to concern itself with preparation for work in the broadest sense" (Winch, 2000: p.1). There is, in light of large-scale poverty and increasing levels of youth unemployment, a critical need to put the workings of South Africa's post school youth firmly onto the South African policy agenda.

7. Early Critique - Post 2002 - 2009 The period post 2003 saw a shift in skills development research with an increasingly critical engagement with policy taking place (McGrath et al, 2004; Kraak, 2004, 2007; Papier, 2006, 2008 and Sooklal, 2005). Much of the key policy frameworks had been formulated and were in the early phases of implementation. The debate in these studies centred on an “awareness that policies exist not just as pronouncements but also as practices” (McGrath, 2004: p4) with concern being expressed with the failure of policy to achieve its stated outcome (Papier, 2006). A key concern of this period was the structural incoherence within the skills development system caused by the establishment of education and training in two distinct Departments of Education and the Department of Labour (Kraak, 2006, 2007, 2008; Cosser et al, 2004; McGrath, 2004; McGrath, 2010; Gewer and Murock, 2010). Until very recently, skills provision through the SETAs was located in the Department of Labour and education provision in the Department of Education. Mcgrath (2010) discussing this divide summarised the problems as being, “Essentially, two systems had developed with a lack of articulation or, worse, with a significant degree of conflict at key points. Thus, put rather crudely, the Department of Labour (through the Sector Education Training Authorities, or SETAs) had the money, whilst the Department of Education (DoE) had the key public provider institutions.” (Mcgrath, 2010: p.1) In this context, Kraak (2006) argued the importance of ‘joined-up’ policy to correct for this by allowing “cross-sectoral policy co-ordination and complementarity” (Kraak, 2006). Concern with structural coherence was evidence not only at the Ministerial level, but at the level of institutions. The Report of the study team on the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework, whilst positive about the goals of the NQF, noted “considerable tension and disagreement about the respective roles of the main institutional actors, including SAQA itself” (McGrath, 2005: p.144). Lundall (2003) notes that while workplace training as funded through the skills levy represents



a significant improvement to what existed during apartheid that administrative delays in establishing the institutional structures resulted in significant delays in meeting the training targets stipulated in the NSDS. A crucial contribution to research in this period was the production by the HSRC of two Human Resources Development Reviews (HRDR) in 2004 and 2008. Drawing on Finegold and Soskice’s (1998) language of a High Skills Equilibrium (HSEq) and a Low Skills Equilibrium (LSEq), HRDR 2004 argued for a multi-pronged skill development strategy which creates “labour-absorbing, low-skill employment on a large scale, alongside the expansion of higher value-adding exports” (Kraak, 2004: p. 32). The major contribution of this debate was that it developed a logic counter to that of HSEq with its emphasis on ‘knowledge workers’ by arguing for a modified discourse in the South Africa context of ‘higher skills for all’ (McGrath, 2004). In support of this argument the directory examines the skills deficits in each of the three skills bands: low, intermediate and high level skill bands and argues that skills deficits are located not only in the high skills bands, as proponents of the HSEq approach would assume, but also at the intermediate skills band and even at the low skill band. Here an enormous contribution was the finding that gross inefficiencies continued to exist within the system which included high numbers of learners either repeating school grades or dropping out of school and a decrease in the overall school population (HSRC, 2004: p. 23). At post compulsory schooling, the report found that 81% entered the FET colleges with a Grade 12 and exited with a N3 certificate (an equivalent and not higher qualification) constituting a regressing to a lower level of learning on entering the FET college (Fisher et al, 2003). The second HRDR, produced in 2008, argues that a significant “‘misalignment’ exists between the need of the growing South African economy and “the effects of ‘expansion saturation’ within the South African system of education and training in the period 2000-2005” (HSRC, 2009: 1). The core argument is that South Africa’s strong economic growth (of 5%) is not matched by equivalent growth in education and training outputs and, even further, is potentially threatened by ‘expansion saturation’ in supply-side institutions which are proving unable to provide the quantity and quality of skills required to sustain and further economic growth (HSRC, 2009: 1). FET colleges The period between the establishment of the FET colleges in 2002 and 2006 saw the consolidation of the FET college sector, with the appointment of college principals, the development of common management systems across the college sector and the resolution and training of college councils. In 2005, a R1.9 billion Recapitalisation Fund was made available to overhaul outmoded college infrastructure and facilities. 2006 to 2007 saw another major shift with the NATED programmes traditionally offered by FET colleges replaced by the National Certificate Vocational (NCV) programmes. These programmes provide training at National Qualifications Framework levels 2,3, and 4 in areas identified as skills shortages by the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA). The programmes offered across 11 fields and for more than 50 qualifications aim to integrate theoretical and practical components of vocational education. In 2006 the FET Colleges Act which provides the regulatory framework for the FET college sector was passed. The Act establishes the principles and mechanisms by which FET colleges, as compared to schools, are to be managed, governed and funded and by so doing seeks to bring uniformity in the legislation related to FET colleges. In the same year, a R600 million government funded FET College Bursary Scheme was established. Later in 2006, the National Plan for Further Education and Training Colleges in South Africa was released by the Department of Education. The Act establishes the principles and mechanisms by which FET colleges, as compared to schools, are to be managed, governed and funded and by so doing seeks to bring uniformity in the legislation related to FET colleges. The period post 2004 saw a shift in FET research with an increasingly critical engagement with policy taking place (McGrath et al, 2004, 2005; Kraak, 2004, 2007; Papier, 2006, 2008) and Sooklal, 2005). The focus was on the failure of FET policies to achieve its outcomes and on “the mismatch between policy and reality” (Papier, 2006: p.5). As stated by Papier (2006), “Vocational qualifications need to become desirable because they offer real learning and real skills, inspire confidence among employers, are affordable by the masses who need training, and because the learning pathway is clearly signposted. This is what the policy has promised, but it seems we are still a



long way off from achieving it. … I want to make an earnest appeal for an appraisal of the mismatch between policy and reality.” (Papier, 2006: p.5) Research highlighted this “mismatch between policy and reality” (Papier, 2006: p.5) by focussing on education and training policies and the implications thereof for FET colleges (McGrath, 1996; McGrath, 2004; McGrath, 2010). McGrath (2004) critiques FET policy for ignoring the “economic context” within which the transformations cited in the FET Green Paper and FET Act were to be achieved. For him a key concern, in light of large scale unemployment, is the role that FET colleges are to play in skills development targeted at the informal sector. A smaller body of work, frequently overlapping with the above, focuses on the relationship between colleges and the labour market (Cosser, 2003; Gewer, 2009; Pereira and Taylor, 2004) and on aspects of institutional development, most particularly the formation of effective governance systems (Powell, 2004); management systems (Geel, 2005) and teaching staff (Jaffe et al, 2004; FETI, 2009). Learnerships An important aspect of the skills development strategy is the provision of learnerships. Developed as a cornerstone component of the skills development strategy, the aim of learnerships are to provide workplace learning in a structured and systemised form; to link structured learning to multiple sites of work experience and to do so in a manner that results in a nationally-recognised qualification. In this regard, learnerships are registered through the South African Qualifications Authority and have defined competencies that are accredited through theoretical and practical testing (Kraak, 2007). Learnerships represent a consensus model of training whereby employers (work places) and public and private training providers contractually agree to provide accredited and approved training for a learner. The learnership agreement is entered into by an employer or employers, a learner and a training provider. It obligates the employer to employ the learner, provide specified work experience and allow the learner to attend education and training and the learner to work for the employer and to undertake the required education and training (Republic of South Africa, 1998). Learnerships are to increase participation in education by providing access to learners unable to afford education by offering a learning stipend and to widen participation by encouraging lifelong learning. The importance of learnerships for skills development in South Africa rests in a number of concerns that overlap strongly with that of the FET college sector. First, learner stipends aim to expand access and provide first and second chance opportunities for the economically and socially disadvantaged. Second, the compulsory practical work-based component aims to prepare learners for employability and to create closer synergy between education and the world of work thereby narrowing the gap between theory and practice and between classroom learning and work experience. Third, learnerships occur within the ambit of intermediate to higher level skills – the core focus of FET colleges. Studies of the effectiveness of learnerships found problems inherent in both the conceptualisation and implementation of learnerships (Fester, 2006) particularly at the lower NQF levels with learnerships being stymied by curriculum and institutional challenges – foremost being industry’s lack of commitment to work-based training and the unequal acceptance by the market-place of the learnership qualification (Powell, 2007).

8. Academic Research During this period an enormous growth in academic research occurred. The vast majority of these were Masters Thesis produced as part of a MEd or MPhil. Similar to studies in the Period of Construction these studies present disjointed topics, are supervised by different supervisors and across different universities. While many of the thesis focus on aspects of FET policy implementation and the success and failures thereof, a few began to interrogate and challenge the assumptions underlying South Africa’s skill development approach. Barnes (2004), for example, shows that contrary to policy assumptions which argue for the importance of FET colleges for economic growth that “education does not cause changes in the economy, rather it responds to such changes” (2004: p.xv). Allais (2003, 2007) provides a powerful critique of the South African NQF. Contrary to, and in response to arguments that focus on concerns related to the implementation of the NQF, Allais (2003, 2007) argues that the disjuncture in implementation exists as a direct result of the disjuncture inherent in two competing paradigms that underpin the NQF: that of neoliberalism on the one hand and that of egalitarianism on the other. Moreover, that the increasing dominance of the neoliberal paradigm has



resulted in a narrowing in knowledge as educators attempt to construct curricula to fit the requirements of unit standards and the specification of clear outcomes. As stated by Allais, “A notion has developed that curriculum is a mere technical process of working out how best to get a specific group of learners to learn the required ‘skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values’.” (Allais, 2003: 313). Gamble (2006) in an analysis of what constitutes ‘intermediate’ knowledge argues that the “move from VET to FET may serve to dilute the knowledge and skills required for different occupations. Against the backdrop of a failed artisanal system, Gamble explores the complexity of curriculum development at the intermediate level. She argues the importance of maintaining a “stronger rather than weaker combination of practice and theory” which allows practical education to strengthen but not at the expense of theoretical education (Gamble, 2003). Akojee (2008) makes an important contribution by highlighting that incoherence in the skills sector undermines the contribution that public FET colleges can play and, by so doing, opens up the space for private colleges. He argues that these private colleges exist as an integral part of South Africa’s VET system and that they have an enormous contribution to make to skills development. By putting the issue of private colleges on the table he raises an important debate as to the way in which private education can be used to supplement public spend on education.

9. Assumptions While studies in this period studies critiqued the structural relationships established in the education and training sector, the implementation of policies, the efficiency of institutions and structures and the continued misalignment between education and training and the labour market, there was – with the exception of the academic studies – widespread acceptance of the underlying tenants of the sector. The most critical of these, imbedded in the transformation approach adopted by the post-apartheid government is the assumption that education and training can make a difference to the economy. This is not an unreasonable assumption as ample evidence exists to show a strong correlation between education and training levels and a nation’s economic competitiveness and stability. But it is also not an uncontested assumption and simplistic notions of a linear relationship or crude cause and effect relationship between education and economic growth has been widely challenged. Wolf (2002) argued that simple beliefs in a direct relationship between education and national economic growth have resulted in educational “expansion as an end in itself” (Wolf, 2002: p.245). She argues that nations “extrapolating the benefits of education in much the same mood of boundless and groundless optimism as investors caught up in a stock-market bubble” have adopted policy frameworks that are ill conceived in helping the poor and fail to achieve the economic growth hoped for (Wolf, 2002: p.245). This is similarly argued by Ashton and Green (1997) and Keep and Mayhew (1999) who argue that, “attempts to boost the supply of VET without simultaneously tackling those structural characteristics within firms that limit demand for intermediate levels of education and skill run a risk of creating a situation where the returns from investment in VET will be inadequate” (1999: p. 134). This is not to suggest that no relationship exists between educational advancement and economic development, but it is to argue that the nature of this relationship is complex and related just as much to the social, economic, trade and political policies and practices of a country as it is does to the education system which forms only one part of a broader socio-economic national framework. A second, and related assumption, is that increased education will address and lead to poverty alleviation. Again, this is a reasonable assumption. The South African experience shows a clear correlation between educational qualification and success in the labour market where people with higher qualifications have a greater chance of accessing the labour market and also of having greater job satisfaction and higher salaries (Branson et al, 2009). This too, however, is not an assumption without its challenges and its nuances. Challenges here rest on the key question of ‘what kind of education and training is privileged by the labour market?’ Powell (2007) shows that over 30% of learnership graduates were unemployed and in some cases after a full year of graduation. Cosser et al (2003) in a study addressing the labour market outcomes of technical college students found that little more than a third were employed after completing their qualifications and that securing this employment took on average six months after leaving college (Cosser et al, 2003: p.86). Citing letters sent him by students, he paints a picture of college graduates desperate to access work and who, as described by one, would take “any kind of job that I can get” or, as stated by another, frustrated after repeated failed attempts at gaining access to employment, “[I am] not much of a college Graduate



more like a College screw up” (Cosser et al, 2003: p.91). These findings are supported by Gewer (2009) who, through a tracer study of 1,532 FET college graduates from FET colleges in Gauteng, argues that FET colleges have a limited impact on the rate of employment, in particular the rate of relevant employment. A similar trend can be found in the schooling sector. The HRD (2004) reported that 51% of school leavers will fail to get a job. The HRD (2004) argues that, “it is likely that the actual or perceived poor quality of South African schooling (particularly in the formerly African school system) serves as a major disincentive for on the demand-side for employing large numbers of first-time entrants to the labour market” (HRD, 2004: p. 31). While much has changed in the FET college sector since Cosser’s 2003 study, the question remains: What difference does education make to the lives of the poor? And, more specifically, access to what kind of education is needed for education and training to make a difference to the lives of learners. This is not a new question in education and training and certainly not a new question in developing contexts and exists, as argued by Wolf (2002) as “quite literally the billion-dollar question for education policy” (2002: p.29). The question demands a new engagement with skills development in developing contexts. What do skills mean in these contexts? And which skills matter? Palmer (2007), grappling with these questions in a study on VET in Ghana, noted that the training provided by TVET focussed predominantly on training for the formal sector whereas the vast majority of students (he cites an approximate 90%) will end up working in the informal areas (Palmer, 2007). In terms of this then, Palmer (2007) cites the White Paper on the Report of the Education Reform Review Committee in Ghana as stating that it “has failed to deliver its promise of comprehensively equipping the youth … with directly employable skills for the world of work” (Palmer, 2007: p.402). Over four decades ago, Foster (1965) arguing against crude aspirations for VET to fix and remedy social and economic problems, coined the term ‘the vocational school fallacy’ by arguing that vocational schools were neither aspired to by young Ghanaians and nor did they benefit economic development. “... a number of present efforts to develop technical and agricultural education on a large scale in Ghana are likely to be no more successful than their numerous predecessors unless such endeavours are paralleled by changes in the economic structure” (Foster, 1965: p.294) The third is located in the notion of ‘pathways’. The notion of the pathway was first raised in Australia by the Finn review in 1991 (Mckenzie, 2000). Since then it has been a core concept shaping education and training in Australia. Australia has not been unique in its interest and concern for pathways. The OECD comparative report, (Making Transitions Work, 2000) compares education to work transitions in 14 countries showing that most countries have been “attempting to make the pathways from school to work more attractive, open and flexible, and to provide more opportunities to combine vocational learning with general education” (Mckenzie, 2001) The notion of a pathway suggest a neat and orderly sense of knowing where you are coming from and where you are going and is used to assume a rather linear link between education and training experiences and employment. Mckenzie (2001) explains that the term ‘pathway’ has its root in policy concerns regarding the education-employment nexus. A result of this is that studies investigating education-employment pathways are generally applied, funded by government, and undertaken either by government research institutions or by institutions commissioned by government and for the most part utilise quantitative methods. Ecclestone (2009) argues that the concept of ‘transition’ is broader than that of ‘movement’ and ‘transfer’ in that it includes ‘movement’ between and across contexts and ‘transfer’ from one environment to another, but also refers to life changing shifts in individuals in social role and identity. In contrast to this understanding of ‘transition’, the metaphor of ‘pathways’ represents a far narrower concept that reflects a linear ‘movement’ – in this case, from education and training to employment. The notion of ‘transition’ aligns more closely to the experience of youth who, due to increased youth unemployment and increasingly complex education and training ‘pathways’ are taking longer to move through education and training and into employment, or unemployment as the case might be (Evans and Furlong, 1997; Kraak, 2007). This notion of pathways and the expected education to work relationship resulted in a number of researchers examining various aspects of ‘responsiveness’ in FET colleges. Examples discussed and cited above include Cosser (2003) Learner destinations; Gewer (2009) who studied ‘Features of social capital that enhance the employment outcomes of FET college learner’ and Powell (2007) ‘Labour market outcomes of learnerships’.



10. Research institutions

Despite the enormous contribution to research in the area of skills development made by the HSRC and the NBI, both research centres have experienced "a dramatic loss of capacity ... in the past five years" (Mcgrath, 2008) and by the end of 2009 were no longer as active in FET research and were engaging only minimally in research related to the broader skills development sector. The Colleges Collaboration Fund, the five year project which had provided funding for the NBI research into FET colleges had ended and all three of Divisional Managers involved in the Colleges Collaboration Fund had left the NBI for other positions. At the HSRC, the HRDR 2009 was completed and published. Other projects run by the HSRC such as the South African National Skills Survey and the Scarce and Critical Skills Research Project has similarly ended as has the Danida funded SESD. Almost no new institutions have developed an interest and expertise in the area of skills development. Donor funding prevalent in the Period of Reconstruction had in the Period of Critique all but disappeared. In the Period of Reconstruction donors such as the British Council, Danida, the European Union and many others were involved in skills development research. In the Period of Critique, Danida continued to play a role through the SESD but many of the other funders had shifted their funding to other areas. A small research centre, the Further Education and Training Institute (FETI), based at the University of the Western Cape began during this time period but has a very small staff base of only a few people. The Joint Education Trust produced some work but much of this work is undertaken by a small team of a few people and predominantly by one person. The result has been that much of the recent skills development work is undertaken by a community of competing consultants whose driving force is competition for the next research project rather than collaboration to address the real challenges facing the sector. The problem with the consultant model for research is well tabulated in the literature but is worth highlighting again. Most important is that the consultant model is an unsustainable model which mitigates against the development of a long term research trajectory in a number of important ways. First, the consultant model mitigates against the training and initiation of young (and black) researchers into the terrain. Second, research projects undertaken by consultants produce no further value add other than the product or report produced as part of the project. In an institutionalised framework, research projects would allow other researchers (generally young post graduate researchers) to piggy back on the project and to utilise the data for their post graduate theses. Third, consultants do not have an institutional base to vet, review and comment on their work. They do the work and hand the work over. Nobody knows what has happened to the work and what the engagement between the client (the commissioner of the research - generally government or a government funded body) and the consultant has been and frequently nobody sees the work besides the consultant and the client. The institutionalisation of research allows for a broader discussion and debate around research projects as institutions engage with other stakeholders and are able to engage with government about the findings of the research. Lastly, institutions are able to support government by suggesting research trajectories that should be undertaken and approaches and methods that could best be utilised to do so. Research institutions, contrary to consultants have the capacity to engage in long term thinking about a research area, they are able to keep track of international debates in the area and through publications maintain a dialogue with these debates and the relevance thereof for their home country. Consultants are able to do very little of this with most consultants living from project to project with very little time to engage with international literature and debates. This is not to argue that consultants are inherently bad for research in skills development, or that consultants have been inherently bad for skills development research in South Africa. On the contrary, in the absence of sustainable funding for skills development over the past decade, much of the research work undertaken in the area could not have been achieved without consultants. It is, however, to highlight the importance of developing a sustainable institutional base at which long term projects and sustainable research and researcher development can take place. It is also to emphasise that the absence of such institutions will define and limit the research agenda to projects which are predominantly descriptive and empirical in nature, lack theorising and will for the most part be short term in nature.

11. Deconstruction – a new moment



Despite the lack of a coherent academic community and the limitations of funding, a solid baseline of research has been undertaken on South African skills development which include the quantitative approaches adopted in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Powell and Hall, 2000, 2002 and 2004); the focus on institutional, systemic and policy coherence (Kraak, 2004); the disjuncture between the education and labour market (Cosser, 2003; Kraak, 2007); the misalignment of the National Qualifications Framework (Papier, 2006; Allais, 2003); the impact of the learnership system (Powell, 2007); the structural, managerial and staffing efficiencies of the system (Jaff et al, 2004) and the capacity of staff to cope with institutional reform (Akojee, 2008; Wedekind, 2010). The period of 2009 saw major political changes in South Africa. After achieving a majority in the 2009 national elections, President Zuma replaced President Mbeki who had been President for nine years. Two years prior, in 2007, President Zuma was appointed as the new President of the ANC at the Polokwane conference with the major concern being the centralist approach to politics and governing adopted by President Mbeki. President Zuma assumed leadership of ANC on the promise to open up the space for debate, discussion and engagement and to do so by “changing the way in which government works” and ensuring faster delivery. Within the first few weeks of his appointment, in recognition of the weaknesses of separate Departments of Education and Labour and in response to arguments for a ‘joined-up’ system, President Zuma addressed this malformation by placing the responsibility for Early Childhood Development and the whole schooling in the ambit of the new Department of Basic Education (DoBE) and the responsibility for college, continuing and universty education in the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The establishment of the DHET provides the basis for an integrated approach to education and training. Minister Blade Nzimande, the Minister of DHET, was prior to the first democratic elections closely involved in the NEPI process. Drawing from this experience, and in line with the commitment to change the way in which government works, he is attempting to revise a system which uses the openness of engagement experienced in NEPI. He began his appointment by holding numerous summits including the summit on higher education, the summit on education and training and the summit on skills development. These summits provided opportunities for discussion and debate and provided the opportunity for research work to be presented and discussed. However, due to the short timeframes, all these summits were based on research work that was done a number of years ago or the opinions of people and personal anecdotes. As a result the debates and discussions in skills development, while useful, were not guided by recent and updated research. The Minister has also undertaken to have a Green Paper for post-school education produced. While the Green Paper has commissioned some research, the research base is mainly empirically rather than theoretically driven. The establishment of the DHET has renewed debate on South Africa’s skills sector prompted by a number of critical factors. At it’s broadest level is a shift in the socio-economic development approach adopted by the country to an increased commitment to the poor and marginalised in the country, as stated by President Zuma at his inaugural speech, “Everything we do must contribute in a direct and meaningful way to the improvement of the lives of our people (President Zuma, Inaugural speech). A similar shift has occurred in the commitments for economic development with South Africa’s new economic policy committed to the “creation of decent work” and promoting a “more inclusive economy”. The commitment to improving the lives of South Africans has prompted three areas of concern for the DHET. First is the increasing number of youth who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). DHET (2010) indicate that 42% of youth aged 18-24 are NEET amounting to a total of approximately 2,872,196 people. Second is the pervasive and persistent pattern of inequality that continues to pervade South African society and which is reflected in access and success in education and training. Third is the continued disjuncture between education and training and the skills needs of the economy. (DHET, 2010)

12. New research for new times Much of the empirical research undertaken in the Period of Construction and the Period of Criticism was quantitative and, for the most part, funded by government or donors. While these approaches were useful, if not essential, for the construction of South Africa’s skills development system and the



development of the institutions and structures on which it rests, continued concerns suggest that a time has come to interrogate anew, and perhaps in different ways, the approaches that we have taken. This is not meant to be a criticism of these works. It is to recognise the limitations of these approaches for the next phase of skills development. As stated by Thami Mseleku (the then Director General of Education) at the 2002 FET Convention, the successful restructuring of the FET colleges sector through the finalisation of the merger process and the appointment of college principals marks “not the beginning of the end, but (rather) the end of the beginning” (Powell, 2002: p.8). It is here at this ‘end of the beginning’ that we confront the limitation of research approaches that once proved useful, if not essential, for making the transformations at the beginning possible. And, it is here at the ‘end of the beginning’ that we face the frustration of policies that have failed to produce ‘the productive citizens’ hoped for in South Africa’s ‘skills revolution’. There is, as stated by Papier (2006), “No doubt, (that) the euphoria of our democratic transition resulted in an unbridled idealism where everything was possible if we only believed and worked hard to achieve it.” (Papier, 2006: p.5) This euphoria that she speaks of, in light of the failure of FET colleges to provide the ‘employable’ worker and the skills needed by the economy has led to “increasing frustration” and a reopening of the skills debate. The South African period of ‘reconstruction’ is complete and a new time of ‘deconstruction’ has begun. It is time to consider again the policy structures that we’ve developed and the implications of these for social and economic development. And, it is not only for the South African experience that this ‘deconstruction’ takes place. It is, as Unwin (2004) argues, …the singularity which makes South African a value lens through which we can take a fresh look at some of the nostrums, such as the high skills thesis, which pervade the international debate on social and economic change. In particular, the South African context demands that we make a more critical, and possibly more sophisticated, appraisal of the contribution of vocational education and training (VET) and human resource development (HRD) to economic prosperity and social justice” (Unwin, 2004: p. 239). In other words, it is time again for critique; except that now ‘the road to the state is (not) closed’ and active engagement is not only a possibly, but a responsibility.

13. Conclusion The paper has provided a quick journey through research related to skills development in South Africa. Our apologies for any works that we failed to mention here. We are aware that there are many. Unfortunately space constraints have severely limited the depth and breadth of this paper. A few key experiences have emerged from the South African experience that are worth sharing.

14. Fit-for-purpose government monitoring information systems First is the importance of fit-for-purpose government monitoring information systems for research. Government MIS systems are critical for decision making and policy review and are important for policy makers, policy researchers and academics as they provide the basic ‘facts and figures’ on the skills development system. In the absence of key MIS systems, much of the research undertaken in South Africa’s skills development system would not have been possible. There is, however, a caveat. MIS systems should be simple and clearly targeted to the goal. Attempts to establish complex systems, such as was attempted in the initial establishment of South Africa’s Further Education and Training Management and Information System (FETMIS) delayed the ability to achieve a working FETMIS for many years.

15. Establish as a clear government target the development and maintenance of local research centres for skills development research

Second is the importance of establishing as a clear government target the development and maintenance of local research centres for skills development research. As this paper shows, researchers in skills development do not have an easy home in South Africa or in Africa. Unlike many of our American, Australian or European counterparts, African universities have dedicated much of their towards schooling and higher education and towards the training of teachers. A home for researchers in skills development needs to be created by developing and maintaining, as a clear



government target, a coherent research community in established research centres which has the ability to regenerate itself through training young researchers into Masters and PhD programmes. The history of skills development research in South Africa highlights the importance of this. Currently, only a small research centre, the Further Education and Training Institute (FETI), exists at the University of Western Cape and another, Research into Education and the Labour Market Programme (REAL) at the Education Policy Unit, University of Witwatersrand and both research centres are in a continuous struggle for funding for continued survival. A small amount of research is undertaken at the HSRC and by the JET. These are mainly small scale research projects and insufficient to produce an effective knowledge base for the sector or to sustain a research community. The importance of developing and maintaining a competent research community cannot be stressed enough and so too the importance of developing an independent research community that has the space to challenge, critique and conceptualise new ways of dreaming.

16. Fund theoretical studies Third is the importance of theoretical studies. This quick journey through the skills development research undertaken post 1994 highlights the role that research has played in the construction, fine tuning and overall conception of South Africa’s skills development system. This contribution lies not only in the empirical skills related to gathering and analysing data, but also in the capacity to debate, engage and challenge. And, importantly, within the context of international policy transfer, the development of a solid research community located within an institutional base provides the opportunity to engage with international (and rather dominant) ‘discourses’ in skills development and to challenge, alter and modify this discourse for the national context. The very term skills development means different things in different context across and within countries. The skills development approaches adopted in one country – located within broader socio-economic development projects – cannot easily and certainly not neatly be transported to another and neither can the evaluation and research indicators and approaches be so transported. This is not to say that we can’t learn from these countries, but it is to stress the importance of avoiding ‘simple policy transportation’ and developing local research expertise to support the development of alternative policies. An example cited in the paper is that of the debate regarding the High Skills and Low Skills Equilibrium debate where Kraak (2004, 2006) through engagement with this debate developed the notion of a ‘multipronged skills strategy’ for South Africa which aimed for a ‘higher skills equilibrium’. Linked to the above point, is the importance of providing funding for skills development research which moves beyond the project by project costs of research, but recognises the cost and importance of maintaining a research community that has the ability to specialise and stay on top of international and national debates.

17. Develop structures and processes that ensure a working relationship between academics and policy makers

Last, but not least, is the importance of maintaining a structured dialogue between academics and policy makers. Researchers and policy makers live in different worlds and respond to different sets of pressures. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, policy makers and researchers should work together to interrogate the strengths, weaknesses and even the underpinning assumptions of systems and structures. The relationship in South Africa of educational academics with the democratic State was (and to some extent still is) markedly different from the relationship which academics in some developing countries, for example in the United Kingdom. While the ‘progressives’ of South Africa struggled to ‘reconstruct’ a democratic society and worked in parallel with the State to achieve this, in the United Kingdom the battle lines between intellectual work and policy work were drawn (Young, 2008). The working relationship between academics and the state enabled rigorous debate and engagement around the development of South Africa’s policy frameworks. The depth and degree of this engagement has shifted over time from being an intensely close working relationship in the Period of Construction, to a working relationship, but one with slightly greater distancing during the Period of Critique which was a period in policy was rapidly being implemented. It was hinted that policy makers were concerned that too much engagement with academics would slow down the implementation phase.



The period called Deconstruction – A New Moment saw a reopening of the debate and engagement. In retrospect, a clearer and systemically defined approach to the engagement between policy and research might have provided a more consistent engagement over time.

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ANNEXE IV: RESEARCHING TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT: END OR RENAISSANCE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH IN AFRICA? Michel CARTON, NORRAG and Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva 1) More of the same? “The new approach to industrial policy recognizes the need to redirect policy and resources towards the development of appropriate human capital. Government should use targeted incentives to facilitate entry into technical and scientific education that provides the skilled labour force crucial for innovation” (UNCTAD-UNIDO, 2011, 68-69). “An immediate organized effort should be made to help bridge the gap between supply and demand in the various categories and levels of manpower needed for the industrial development of the African developing nations” (ECA, 1966, 17). “A new and broader approach to, and a new emphasis on, agricultural education and training are required. One reason is to provide the next generation with the skills, understanding and innovative capacity that they require to practice sustainable agricultural intensification – as well as strengthen individual capabilities” (IFAD, 2011, 171). “Education in rural areas and the application of science to rural and agricultural development has been a major concern of Unesco from its earliest days, since one of the most urgent problems facing developing countries is the serious shortage of personnel trained for agricultural development” (L.Malassis, UNESCO, 1966, 7). “The combination of population growth associated with high fertility rates and the slow pace of job creation in Africa presents challenges to its youth. Despite annual economic growth rates of 6 percent or more, there has not been a sufficient increase in stable employment opportunities for young people. The pressure to create new jobs will only increase over the coming decades” (E. Zuhelke, World Bank, 2009). “The number of new jobs which can be created in the modern sector in any one year is limited. In many developing countries, the maximum number of new modern sector jobs which can be expected would not provide for more than twenty to thirty percent - sometimes no more than fifteen percent - of the number of young people coming onto the job market in that year” (R.Dore e.a., ILO, 1976, 2). “Indigenous apprenticeship is at the heart of the explanation of the birth and growth of a free enterprise economy in Nigeria. Many of the best Nigerian entrepreneurs have started in trade, construction or sub contracting activities (A. Callaway, 1972, 188, data 1963). “It is important to recognise that it is necessary, even urgent, to address not only the problem of youth unemployment and the lag between the educational system and the labour market needs in particular, but also the situation of people employed in the informal economy” (17th African Union Summit, 2011). “The issue is not to consider supporting training in and for the informal sector as a per se activity, but to situate this support vs. a vs. the problems self-identified by the concerned people in the sector as well as the contribution this support could provide to some other interventions, particularly related to its economic dimensions” (M.Carton, 1980, 3) “Training schemes in the informal sector are only truly effective when they also address the economic and social environment they take place. Training is only one way among many to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment. It helps young people to enter the job market and enables small and micro-



entrepreneurs to expand into promising trades and niche markets” (French Agency for Development, 2007) A minimum of 30 years has passed between each component of these pairs of declarations were made by different policy making organisations, in Africa and in the world! Did research play any role in the formulation of the descriptions and/or prescriptions that these Africa related development stakeholders have made in the “past” i.e. 30-40 years ago? Did research have a role in the disappearing for 20 years in the development discourse about some key sectors like agriculture, industrialisation, technical and vocational education and training? Did researchers use their knowledge to demonstrate that the consequences of undermining universities in the 80’s, as a component of structural adjustment programmes, would have a price to be paid up to day in terms of research capacities? Is this price not too high to allow research to play a role in today’s revisiting of the sectors that were at the top of the national and international policies agenda in the 70’s-80’s, and are today presented as “new”? 2) Researching education is not worth and serious? Let’s try skills development in Africa! Coming to educational research, one can raise the following questions: - Did it play its functional but also critical and forward looking roles not only about the study of schooling, but also of non formal education and technical and vocational education and training, in spite of the ups and downs of the globalisation discourses and processes as reflected in the above mentioned policies since the 70’s? - Were the positions of some economic development pioneers like K.Lewis known by educational researchers, so that they could have influenced the policy makers when this author writes in 1955: “expenditure on bringing new knowledge to peasant farmers is probably the most productive investment which can be made in any of the poorer agricultural economies” (K.Lewis, 1955, 187)? - Why educationists did not pick up the visionary analysis done in 1960 by one another development economist pioneer, A.Anderson, stating that “education receives only passing reference in most of the now vast literature on technological change, modernization and economic development? A few writers accord it major importance, but they (referring to K.Lewis quoted above) only occasionally amplify on their reasons” (A.Anderson, 1966, 259, )? - Did research policy makers draw some consequences in terms of a meaningful support to educational research, from one another statement by Anderson: “ A functional approach to education requires attention to the relation between formal education and other training. Schools spread the basic sort of knowledge that encourage flexibility in later occupational roles and stimulate countrywide communication. Apprenticeship in various forms is essential for the creation of that kind of human capital we call know-how. In all these contexts, a loose structure without sharp boundaries implements the adoption of a functional program of education and its rapid diffusion” (A. Anderson, 1966, 276)? - 35 years later, can we be optimistic about the future of educational research, when the President of the WB Group delivers a “revolutionary” speech of 14 pages on Democratizing development economics which includes only five times the word education, meaning that the influence of educationists on development economics is close to nil (R. Zoellick, 2010)? The same question can be raised when looking for education in the sector priorities of CODESRIA, as well as in the French Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD-Mali) on-going project Sustaining human and social sciences research on contemporary Mali: no trace of a concern for education! Educational research in Africa was considered as “overlooked and undervalued” by the Educational Research Network for Education in Western and Central Africa (ERNWACA) in the mid 90’s (R.Mclure, USAID, 1997). The present document aims, through the lens of the new skills development discourse, at revisiting this conclusion by using the states of the art done in three countries (Burkina-Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast) on 20 years researching on technical and vocational skills development. These case studies are complemented by the same type of reflection in some countries of Latin America as well as by a critical analysis of the relations between policy making and



research on the same topic in South Africa. The three first documents have been produced by the ERNWACA Chapters in these countries, in collaboration with NORRAG. All the documents, including the present one, will be made available and presented at the ADEA Triennial to be held in Ouagadougou in February 2012, the theme of which being Promoting critical knowledge, skills and qualifications for sustainable development in Africa: how to design and implement an effective response through education and training systems? It must be noted that it will be the first time that African Ministers of Education and Training (in the larger sense of the term) will seat together in such an assembly, underlying the importance and urgency to deal in an integrated and holistic way with some issues like the role of technical and vocational skills development as an instrument to facilitate the inclusion of youth in society, both socially and economically, as well as sustainable economic development. In order to clarify the reference “model” for the notion of technical and vocational skills development, Annex 1 presents a visualisation by R.Walther (co-coordinator of the ADEA Triennial) of the change of perspective that passing from technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to technical and vocational skills development TVSD represents (R.Walther, 2011). For simplification reasons, SD will be used as an abbreviation for TVSD. 3) Educational research: the dunce in a second rate social sciences classroom? We have noted above that, according to ERNWACA, educational research would not have been at the top of any research efficiency ranking in the 90’s. Looking at the way educational research has dealt with the field of SD over the last 20 years is being used in this paper as an instrument to check whether the institutions, actors, working and financing conditions it implies are to day in a survival or a (pre) renaissance situation. It is hoped that at least the pre-renaissance one is on its way, in order to contribute to the minimal necessary knowledge creation and accumulation that is badly needed to support some sound policy discussions on SD! Answering the question needs first to put educational research in the broader context of social sciences. As mentioned in the 2010 World Social Science Report (WSSR): “The science institutions in many sub-Saharan countries have been systematically eroded and destroyed over the past three decades through international economic policies as well as by the devastating effects of domestic policies and events. The cumulative effect of these policies over time has been a decline (at least in relative terms) in scientific output, changes in modes of scientific work, the devaluing and degrading of the science profession and, of course, the brain drain. Many people have commented on the lack of indigenous African theories and conceptual models to address the region’s social dynamics and challenges. This is not a new observation. It is clear, however, that this call for theoretical innovation and more sociological imagination is even more relevant in an age of globalization and internationalization, of the continuous decline of key scientific institutions including research centres, societies and journals, in many countries, and of the widespread lack of government support for social sciences research in sub-Saharan Africa” (Mouton, WSSR, 2010, 67). Two issues are specifically crucial for social sciences research: “the individualistic research does not have much influence on society and rarely carries much weight. Governments and decision-makers - but also university bureaucrats - are impressed and influenced by size (large centres, networks and think tanks) and continuity in scholarship over time. Where social science scholarship is primarily individualistic, it is unlikely to be taken seriously or to influence policy. So its status will be low and negligible. Perhaps even more serious are the intellectual consequences of this form of research. It leads to fragmentation of effort, lack of critical dialogue within a community of scholars and often a lack of methodological rigor. Discipline-based work will eventually decline and basic scholarship such as social theory will also suffer. Individualistic research is one side of the coin of which the other face is consultancy research. ‘Consultancy’ social science refers to the widespread practice of academics engaging in consultancy work – mostly for international agencies and governments – to augment their meagre academic salaries. It is most prevalent in specific disciplines such as the health sciences, business studies, ICT, and monitoring and evaluation work, but is still widespread and on the increase” (Mouton, WSSR, 2010, 65).



This situation is both the consequence and reason for what Mouton names the “deinstitutionalization of science”: “With the decline in the number of robust and vibrant university-based research centres, we are witnessing an increase in trans national and regional research networks. One could argue that such networks are emerging as a direct result of globalization, greater international collaboration and increased access to the Internet. At the same time, such networks are also filling the void left by the lack of strong national research centres. The vast majority of these networks focus on interdisciplinary and more applied fields of the social sciences. Examples are the Sahara Network for the Social Aspects of HIV and AIDS, and the African Labour Research Network. These networks are predominantly sustained by international agency funding. Most of them are engaged in a range of activities, which include research but also capacity-building and training, networking through conferencing and other means, as well as advocacy and policy work” (Mouton, WSSR, 2010, 67). Educational research follows exactly the same pattern in most West African countries but, on top of the difficulties coming from its too broad definition of a so called interdisciplinary field as well as of the predominance of consultancy as a deterrent to autonomy, there is some more difficulty to run efficient networks. Not being a discipline but an interdisciplinary field, it can’t progress through the two dominant knowledge production forms that are individualistic and consultancy based, as interdisciplinarity needs teamwork and detailed and well managed working conditions. Consequently, the launching and functioning of networks which could be compared to the above mentioned ones are difficult: networks depend on people who know how to connect individuals, institutions as well as resources, and who have a disciplinary/thematic scope which is relatively specific (HIV/AIDS as a field, economics as a discipline). The field of education being too large and scattered, the definition of scientific and institutional niches allowing the creation of a critical mass of knowledge and resources is often difficult. This leads to a kind of an infernal spiral preventing scientific and social recognition as well as policy impact. The possibility of considering SD research as a potential revival path will depend on a drastic change of the today’s educational research work environment and conditions. 4) Consultancy, capacity building, research governance, advocacy: with a touch of science? In his analysis of social science research in Africa, Mouton underlines the theme of research’s autonomy that has been at stake for decades in many countries for historical, political and social reasons. This point relates to the two types of knowledge production mentioned above: based on individual’s initiative or consultancy. The first type is obviously autonomous but usually without much relevance and impact. The second type is aimed at having largely pre-determined impact and is rarely autonomous. The case studies from the three West African countries, South Africa and Latin America covered by the ERNWACA-NORRAG contribution to the ADEA Triennial show clearly that consultancy work is dominant in spite of being often considered as antagonist to autonomy and quality work. The South African case study provides an interesting perspective articulated with the overall transformation stages of this country’s society since the early 90’s: the author identifies three successive periods for SD research, namely Construction, Early Critique and Deconstruction (L.Powell, 2011). These three “seasons” might apply to the new perspective that ADEA is proposing with TVSD as a larger and more dynamic perspective than TVET, which remains one component of a SD strategy (see Annex 1). The issue for researchers and policy makers is not to keep criticising the limits of TVET but to build a new vision where research is one important instrument for relevant and sustainable decisions. At the same time, the limits and problems of the new SD “model” will have to be progressively identified in order to move towards a deconstruction/reconstruction stage. Such a process would reflect a different mode of governance of a policy making process, where autonomous (functional and critical) research as well as consultancy and quantitative data collection are needed. In other words, the a priori opposition between consultancy type “research” and fully autonomous research could be less extreme than how it is often presented. That is why researching on the economics and political sociology of consultation in Africa (that is very rare in every field, including education) and connecting the results with the on going works on the designing of some new modes for university research governance could help decision makers as well as academics to relaunch a



constructive dialogue. (It is worth noting that these topics were covered during a NORRAG-DSE workshop in 1995 (K.King, L.Buchert, eds, DSE, 1996)). Connecting knowledge on the consultancy world with research on governance issues has to be articulated with the up to date discourse on capacity building on (CB) proposed by international as well as by continental organisations. Collecting data on consultation would surely confirm that it is a dominantly short term, project and aid related and calling very often on academic skills, having obvious consequences for the quantitative and qualitative research capacities of tertiary education institutions. At the same time, the World Bank Institute, the CB branch of the Bank, aims “ to build skills among groups of individuals involved in performing tasks, and also to strengthen the organisations in which they work, and the socio-political environment within which they operate”. Unfortunately, the situation of research at large seems reflecting an implicit policy of the Bank, i.e. that research institutions are not concerned by this capacity building objective! But it might better so, knowing the conclusions of an Evaluation of the World Bank Support to CB implemented in some African countries: « most support in country programs remains fragmented, designed and managed project by project. While the Bank is moving to better customize its capacity building approaches to country conditions, it needs to develop sector-specific guidance on diagnosing capacity needs and evaluating capacity building measures” (WBI-IEG, 2005). The research programme launched in 2008 by IDRC on University research governance in West and Central Africa, which documents and discusses the situation in different countries. As expected the results of the study confirm that the consultancy market has had and still have a devastating impact on research capacities in many African universities. This reflects, apart from the fact that IDRC is today the largest remaining international agency dealing with research policy and instruments in Africa, that a reconnection between research, development strategies and policies is at work. One another IDRC project Improving the quality and relevance of university research has been launched in 2010 that should capitalize on the prerequisites in research governance as proposed by the previous project. These two IDRC sponsored projects could be considered as a way to implement the CB policy of the WB. We could imagine that the two studies lead to a revisiting of the academic consultancy “research”, based on an analysis of the balance between its pros (field experience for academic staff, source of funding for underfinanced public universities, source of information on the real life of policy making and implementation..) and cons (academics having less experience than specialised firms, slow outcomes delivery conditions, mission creep/overreach...). Studying educational research through the lens of consultancy could then contribute to propose some different scenarios for a new research policy in universities. Concretely, further exploiting the cases of the consultancy based SD “research” to be presented at the ADEA Triennial could provide some interesting change-oriented indications. The above-mentioned SA perspective on SD research sheds also a new light on the advocacy dimension that some parties insist on connecting with research outcomes. For Monroe “advocacy, like the policy process itself, is both a process and an outcome. It includes the persuasive behaviours used in the political or public policy arena (i.e. process) and the policy positions one takes and encourages others to take through one’s research and scholarly writing (i.e. outcomes)” (Monroe, 1995, 425). For example, one can advocate for a larger SD perspective instead of a TVET one only (see Annex 1). Advocating for such a vision can be very persuasive in the political spheres (unemployed youth is a social bomb), but a costs and financing analysis of different forms of SD will show that not many state budgets can afford (re)developing TVET, as an alias for SD, and comply at the same time with the EFA objectives of the MDGs. This means that the advocacy work has to rely not only on some relevant socio-political positions but also on a strong analytical knowledge of the micro and macro-economics of education (i.e. schooling, as EFA is mostly and wrongly limited to that modality). The following macro-economic analysis is a demonstration that some worldwide campaigns advocating for EFA can have some risky consequences. “ Compared with the evolution of the GDP, the external financial needs (for supporting EFA) are following a very dangerous increasing trend, that is not the case for the GDP. The point is that these needs are only covering the EFA ones. This would not harm the school and production systems. Covering the further financial needs stemming from the intake in secondary education of the



increasing number of children leaving basic education as well as keeping after 2015 the same pace for the financing of primary education, would by the contrary lead to some even more aggravating consequences for public finance - an even larger share of external financing being necessary (C.Quenum, 2009, 12). This is explicitly acknowledged by the EFA Report for Africa since 1997 (UNESCO-BREDA, 2007, 34). This analysis seemed unfortunately not being known and understood by the majority of education researchers who attended the ERNWACA colloquium for its 20th anniversary in December 2009 in Bamako, where it was presented…. 5) Researching SD: a window of opportunity to be open….. without leaning outside? No wonder that under such circumstances, the influence of educational research on national, regional and international policy making is far from being what could be expected. The situation is even more precarious when the policy motto becomes Skills Development. This perspective, as already underlined, implies a much larger spectrum of stakeholders than TVET: firms, artisans, civil society organisations, trade unions, public and private TVET organisations, Ministries of Education and Labour - whose needs and demands for knowledge are different and even contradictory. Consequently, the range of disciplines, methodologies and techniques necessary to cover the different dimensions of SD is larger than for researching education, usually understood as school related institutions and policies. As for researching education (=schooling), researching SD needs psychology and pedagogy but should, in principle, call also on economics (micro and macro), sociology, anthropology, socio-linguistics, law, history (institutional and economic), political science, demography, and statistics. If the major part of educational research is not calling on many of these disciplines to day, researching SD can’t exists without them in order to tackle such topics as: efficiency-efficacy of the supply vs. demand approaches as defined by the stakeholders; individual and social rates of return; social criteria for accessing to different forms of SD; representations of TVET amongst potential concerned population; meaning of terms like enterprise, crafts, apprenticeship, informal sector; meaning of the right to education in relation to SD; colonial history of production related training; a posteriori long term analysis of the relations between education+training and growth; different forms of governance of SD systems; influence of the demographic situation on the demand for schooling+SD; SD data collection and analysis instruments. A one more difficulty lies in the fact that some related research fields like demography/labour/employment, growth, social protection - all fields obviously related to education and SD - develop their own logics without nearly any reference to the latter. It is impressive to read a recent interview of the Chief economist of AfDB (M.Ncube, 30th Oct. 2010) at the same time as the Strategy for higher education, science and technology of the same organisation (Feb. 2008): the words education, skill, qualification, science and research do not appear once in the interview as energy, infrastructures, growth, raw materials are repeatedly used! The only support for research mentioned in the Chief’s economist’s interview concerns health, confirming what was said earlier about the comparative advantage of this field vs. education. The same for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) that has dramatically switched its priority from basic education to higher education, TVET and research: in a one hour and a half interview (2009, see WAEMU-UEMOA site) of the exiting (1st Sept.2011) Secretary General, the latter refers to education and training issues for five minutes only! In a more positive way for education+SD research a project supported by IDRC West and Central Africa deals with the Labour market dynamics in times of crisis: evidence from Africa. This project is grounded in the 2010 ILO report concerning joblessness among young people (aged 15-25): “The latter has increased by seven percentage points since the start of the global financial crisis - the largest two-year increase on record in countries for which data is available. High levels of youth unemployment are problematic, because young people who do not go to school or work are likely to deskill and may develop social problems that reinforce their exclusion from the labour market. They also form a volatile political constituency. And, in some African countries, the situation is complicated by civil war, political unrest and internal displacement “. Launching a research project referring to this ILO report will need to call, for obvious socio-political reasons, to



some more disciplines than labour and employment economics, i.e. conflict and migration studies, political science… The weight given to SD as a one component of a scientifically grounded labour market dynamics analysis will have to be checked in the outputs of this project. The G20 Human Development Pillar of its Development Working Group follows the Multi-year action plan on development adopted at the G20 Seoul Summit, that calls on international organizations to work together, under the coordination of the ILO, to support developing countries, in particular low-income countries “to continue to develop employment-related skills that are better matched to employer and market needs in order to attract investment and decent jobs.” The Seoul development plan specifies actions to be undertaken in the areas of internationally comparable and practical skills indicators for employment and productivity, and support to national employable skills strategies. This Inter-Agency Group on TVET (UNESCO, OECD, WB, ILO, ETF) should lead to the creation of some data bases allowing the construction of a powerful instrument from which researchers should start later to raise questions and next proceed to a deconstruction, as suggested by the South African “model”! If the fulfilling of the G20 objectives in terms of the creation of international skills indicators is a pre-condition for the launching of meaningful and grounded research activities on SD, we can’t ignore the following warning by S.McGrath: “ Arguably, too much of skills research mirrors the focus of governments and agencies in looking at the policy level. Yet, skills systems are filled with people and learners who are ultimately at the heart of TVET. This clearly raises methodological issues regarding whose perspectives are reflected by research and which of the multiple relevant knowledge about TVET are privileged and which silenced » (S.McGrath, 2011). This point refers again to the research autonomy issue raised by Mouton in the WSSR 2010, which is also a today’s concern when it comes to universities, as illustrated by M.Tidjani during a conference organised by NORRAG in June 2009 on Policy transfer/policy learning: interactions between international and national skills development approaches: « The LMD - BA, MA, PhD reform - offers an example of policy transfer. It comes out of the Bologna process in Europe and follows the signature in 1998 of a Declaration on the harmonising of the architecture of higher education in Europe. In the last few years, it has reached the shores of Africa. This is a case of a blanket transfer of an organising model. First worked out in Anglo-Saxon countries, the reform is exported to the countries of the EU before being transferred to certain African countries. The latter did not develop it, but they accept it as a modernisation par excellence and integration tool for their higher education systems. While states are the ultimate carriers of the policy, it follows the indirect route of a regional integration organisation (WAEMU) that stimulates, through a directive, its implantation in member countries. » Tidjani is less pessimistic as far as scholarly research in social science is concerned: “the sector uncovers a situation of partial policy transfer: certain segments of research activity are transferred and function in accordance with autonomous logic but, in some cases, enclaves of international level achievement and competitiveness may appear merely connected to local research » By the opposite, “sub-contracting practices may change universities in mere data production agencies, thereby annihilating the potential for independent research production of a quality grade valid in the markets of the global knowledge “ (A.Tidjani, 2009, 8-9). Reading again the G20 initiative with McGrath’s and Tidjani’s warning in mind, some worries can be expressed as the word research appears only four times in the 3300 words of the draft Joint inception note, and that “research at the country level” appears only once, the three other research activities referring to the concerned IO’s projects. We can fear that calling on tenths of national African consultants to collect data will be the easy way again, the supposedly proposed argument being urgency as well the limited quantity and quality of human resources available in SD related research institutions and networks. The loop is again closed in spite of the capacity building/development and empowerment discourses and projects! Let’s hope that the final version of the Inception note will introduce these words as some further objectives of the actions to be launched. 6) Researching what? Introducing SD in the field of educational research is then a multi faceted challenge (An indispensable reading is the Handbook of technical and vocational education and training research edited by R.MacLean and D.Wilson, 2009). If the key macro and micro-economic issues (costs and financing,



individual and social rates of return of different modalities of SD, economies of scale, trade offs in the state’s budgets between different types and modalities of SD…) which are at stake in the related policy discussions are to be put high on a research agenda, the domination of economics can’t be the rule even though this is for the sake of today’s priority for a so called sustainable growth (that is, en passant, a contradiction in terms!), i.e. sustainable costs! As mentioned above, many other disciplines have to be called for covering the governance, management, statistical, demographic, socio-anthropological, cultural, historical, socio-linguistics… dimensions of the SD field, starting with the definition of terms: this domain is not an academic game, as the same terms are being (miss) used in many different ways from the top policy leaders down to trainers and “youth”. The clarification of the definition of some notions as the latter being an example of the use of socio linguistics for sound action: • Youth: young people are often defined as those between the ages of 15 and 25, according to social and family traditions. This is perhaps less true today because education (even where minimal), rural-urban mobility and the influence of modernity (television, etc.) can lead to an early exit from childhood and entry to adulthood. On the other hand, a substantial number of children can be found on the African labour markets: in many countries (Madagascar for example) 10% of the active population are between the ages of 6 and 15. At the same time, many projects and programmes aim to reach “young people” up to the age of 25, even though they have achieved social recognition through marriage, inheritance or in other ways. A socio-cultural contextualisation is necessary before defining the limits of a “target” population. • Inclusion: reconsidering the boundaries of youth is a necessity given the new transitions operating between childhood and adulthood as redefined above. The ending of childhood at age 11 (because of school leaving, economic survival outside the family or early pregnancy) acts as a form of exclusion that should be countered by inclusion in various ways and places as soon as possible to defuse the “social bomb” in this age bracket (Early signs are already present in rural areas, i.e. in the form of petty theft and thefts of standing crops by young people). The use of the term inclusion as a motto without extending the limits of the concept to the broader social life of youth can lead to a wastage of resources. • Insertion: this notion, more often used in relation with SD than inclusion in many documents and by many actors, is not relevant because it refers to a process that was valid during the 1980s in Europe, where successive periods of schooling, training and employment took place in a linear, continuous and progressive manner. Inclusion, as defined above, can take multiple forms and follow non-linear and discontinuous sequences. Although professional insertion is the objective of many SD programmes, some more variables need to be observed and analysed with prospects for action under those programmes: geographic mobility, subcontracting, creating income-generating activities, and pursuing further education may occur/overlap/be interrupted from a very early age and continue throughout active life, particularly at times of crisis. In that sense insertion, as a difference with inclusion, is not a robust concept to cover the reality of today’s youth. • Enterprise/entrepreneur: SD documents and actors use these terms ad nauseam. An entrepreneur takes risks using own or another’s funds with a view to making enough of a profit to at least pay employees and financiers, pay back investment and perform operations. Many SD programmes refer to enterprise, being so misleading for policy makers, aid partners, evaluators as well as for the concerned “entrepreneur”: not all graduates of some form of apprenticeship or from a training centre will become entrepreneurs immediately but they will however be inserted socio-economically. Many authors have listed some research needs in the SD field: - Jon Lauglo has, since long, reflected on these needs with a policy angle. He considers the following topics as essential: definition of terms; labour market monitoring and forecasting; indicators of performance (including equity); new “models for TVET (national training authorities, training funds, decentralization, private provision, industry based training..); HRD; coping with management complexity; dual systems; low vocationalisation in mainstream secondary schools; TVET for illiterate



and semi literate learners; and… a stronger research base! The dream of J.Lauglo is to have focused research (but larger than the present production “which is concerned with pedagogy and curricula because it tends to be an outgrowth of TVET teacher education) with sufficient resources and time in order to collect good primary data” (J.Lauglo, 2009). Simon McGrath identifies the following broad fields for SD research: employability, decent work and TVET; skills for all (A discussion might open soon on the extension of the right to education/schooling to SD- note of the author); youth or lifelong perspective; TVET second chance, second best; the complex natures of learning and work; the gap between process reforms and individual outcomes; aid and TVET; and…. researching TVET. As already quoted above but worth rehearsing, as it relates to researching research on SD which is the objective of the ERNWACA-NORRAG contribution to the ADEA Triennial: McGrath reminds us that “Skills systems are filled with people and learners who are ultimately at the heart of TVET. This clearly raises methodological issues regarding whose perspectives are reflected by research and which of the relevant knowledges about TVET are privileged and which silenced” (S.McGrath, 2011). Robert Palmer, a fin connaisseur of informal apprenticeship training (IAT) in Ghana identifies the following research needs: the social composition of IAT; labour markets outcomes of IAT in enabling and disabling contexts; skills for growth and poverty reduction (R.Palmer, 2007). It is worth noting that the comment by J.Lauglo on the domination of TVET teacher training on TVET research applies for IAT. This illustrates the challenge of enlarging the field of TVET research to IAT to get a full SD perspective, as the scientific and policy background are quite different and sometimes opposed between the two worlds. (The three ADEA related case studies reflect this situation). It is also interesting to mention the research priorities that the Swiss Federal Department for Economy has put forward in the mid 2000s, to be implemented by Swiss tertiary education institutions: learning strategies; social skills; technologies for TVET; economics of training (transitions, skills and work); economics of training (firms roles and training policies). Finally, in order not to fall in the above mentioned trap consisting of substituting the voices of the “people who are in Africa at the heart of TVET”, the research needs identified in the three West African case studies after consultation with the stakeholders (Ministries, training centres, business, NGOs, IOs, researchers) are the following: - Institutional management: planning, regional development, financing, governance - Analysis of the demand for TVS based on the knowledge of productive activities and of market needs - Better knowledge of the SD situation in the informal sector and agriculture - Development of relevant curricula. So many ideas, so little experience and means! The key point is now to define some priorities within such a long list at the national but above all regional levels, in order to avoid the dispersion of topics, instruments, and money that has been harmful to the scientific and political reputation of education (=schooling) research. The best way to define priorities lies in the creation of a forum, which would run a reflexive and organisational process with clear steps and deadlines. In some situations, a research “community” pre-exists and can launch such a task. This is partly the case with the “traditional” educational research world. The situation is totally different as far as SD is concerned, as the field is larger than the schooling related research, involves many different stakeholders and is a key burning political issue for national and international policy makers and financing agencies. The challenges and paradoxes of this situation are reflected in the ADEA Triennial: if scientific research in general is dealt with in the Theme 3 document Lifelong acquisition of scientific and technological knowledge and skills for the sustainable development of Africa in the context of globalization, educational research - at large or in relation with SD - is never explicitly referred to. The latter is only referred twice in the Theme 2 document Life long TVSD for socio-economic growth in Africa, which suggests to launch some “research-based empirical evidence to understand the underlying causes of the poor status and



attractiveness of TVET” and to make “data collection, analysis and interpretation for management decisions”. We are very far from the numerous above-mentioned research needs, demands and ideas! The way forward seems long and one can wonder whether the proposed forum would ever take off! One topic could help explicitly facing and may be over passing the difficulties, in spite of its highly sensitive nature: taking stock of the problems encountered by the traditional educational research and creating the conditions for a sustainable SD research policy through a debate around the long lasting question about the priority to be granted to networks or institutions. 6) Research institutions and networks: an African version of l’oeuf ou la poule? We have detailed above the base conditions for having some scientifically efficient, sustainable, visible and potentially policy oriented educational research networks. As these conditions are not widely fulfilled, research networks like ERNWACA are facing some legitimacy problems. This is reflected, for example, in the list of networks that the above-mentioned ADEA Theme 2 document is listing: Association of African Universities, Association for the Advancement of Higher Education and Development, Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, Africa Higher Education Collaborative, Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa, etc as if educational research was not a component of any reflection and action around universities! As explained by Mouton, networking seems being to day the counterpart of the decline of institutions in general. The marginal situation educational research is in and the potential renaissance it might enter in today thanks to the SD “fashion” lead to asses the balance in favour of networks compared to institutions, in relation with this specific field of investigation. This relates again to capacity development. The Capacity development strategic framework (CDSF) of NEPAD (June 2010) states that “the focus to date on traditional skills training alone has not fostered adaptative institutions or created enabling environments capable of empowering individuals to put new knowledge and skills into practice. The CDSF approach is based on a broader understanding of capacity, embracing individuals, organizational and systemic issues.” This statement is of a (too) large nature, but can nevertheless apply to educational research as supported by networks. As long as networks like ERNWACA, in spite of the usefulness of the support they provide for research skills development (such as scientific writing capacities or small grants for individual young researchers – 10% of them only dealing with education-employment relations especially in universities, over the last five rounds), do not contribute to the setting/reinforcing of research institutions, the self-critics done by NEPAD are fully applicable. Individuals take advantage of these skills but fall, voluntarily or not, in the trap of individualistic or consultancy type research. Networks without a strong institutional basis can’t perform well as they become some kind of empty shells. At the same time, the critical mass that isolated institutions (geographically and/or disciplinary) should reach is out of scope for most African educational research institutions. The challenge of taking advantage of the today’s concerns for SD is then to simultaneously create network(s) and the institutional base for making it(them) work. Lessons could be drawn from what happens in the health and medical field, in which considerable amounts of financial and human resources are poured. For example, the Wellcome Trust (UK) is supporting an African institutions initiative with £30 million for seven African-led consortia, involving over 50 scientific institutions from 18 countries. The very names of some components of this Initiative could concern SD: Southern Africa Consortium for Research Excellence, Consortium for Advanced Research Training, Training Health Researchers into Vocational Excellence in East Africa, One Health Initiative – African Research Consortium for Ecosystem and Population Health (based at the Swiss Centre for Scientific Research). It is worth mentioning that agricultural research also has since long put in place some networks/groups as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), the Global Conferences on Agricultural Research for Development (GCRD), all of them with some African based structures/networks.



How to proceed for SD research from now on, by taking stock of the main lessons to be drawn from these cases i.e. a strong link between institutions, consortia (i.e. networks), and regionalisation. Would the proposed forum be launched, it is expected that it would reach the same conclusion! More concretely, which existing platform, organisation, network.. is today ready to welcome such an exercise? The answer could lie in the discourses and actions that many different African continental and/or regional organisations are proposing to day as a reflect of the priority they put since a few years on TVET/SD, such as the African Union, the African Development Bank, The Economic Community of West African States, the West African Economic and Monetary Union. We have seen above that there are some contradictions between these official discourses and the de facto priorities some of their leaders put on programmes and projects which could be defined as using “hard” money for infrastructures, energy.. rather than “soft” money for human and social development through education and training. The same could apply to the numerous international and bilateral public and private aid and development cooperation organisations that are (re) discovering TVET and SD for all kinds of reasons, including security ones! The two issues that researchers should face, before knocking at the doors of such organisations to ask them supporting a forum on the definition of a SD policy, would then be to explicit the compromises they would have to make. The terms of these compromises would depend on two questions raised by S.McGrath and L.Powell that will also be the last ones raised in this paper. 7) Researching for what? Skills for what development vision? “ It can be argued that our notions of skills are implicitly located in an outdated model of development that privileges economic measures of progress and which downplays the human and sustainable dimensions of development. On the contrary, it may be argued that the primary focus of TVET must be to promote employment and poverty reduction. This debate leads on to a consideration of whether the sole purpose of TVET is instrumental improvement of labour market and economic outcomes or whether TVET has a role to play in moral development, citizen formation, personal self-actualisation, etc.” (S.McGrath, 2011) Which vision of skills development research? It is important “providing funding which acknowledges not only the cost of research projects, i.e. project by project funding, but also the cost of maintaining a research community that stays on top of international and national debate by both contributing and challenging these debates. The concepts developed in these debates shape new ways of conceptualising and perceiving which is critical for researchers to continue making the contribution that they have thus far. In a sense, I am arguing here for the importance of not only applied project research, but also for basic research”. It is important “developing and maintaining a competent and independent research base that contributes to the development of skills development through empirical and evaluative research, but also through the critiques and challenges that they raise, and conceptualises new ways of dreaming” (L.Powel, 2011).



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