Increasing access can be better achieved by

Increasing access can be better achieved by integrating or mainstreaming
TVET into the traditional and compulsory school education system. Inte-
grating TVET within the national school education system will provide
greater opportunities for students to know that TVET is the next step
beyond compulsory education. Many students in developing nations do
not have the means to attend tertiary higher education but would gladly
participate in more affordable TVET programs if they were available.
This type of system would mirror what takes place in Germany, which
has multiple tracks of learning after compulsory school education.
9
Fur-
thermore, this integration could also provide dropouts of formal school
education the ability to gain work skills, enabling better direct access to
formal and well-paid employment. This in turn would allow for such
students to make a more effective contribution to their communities and
society in general.
In many cases, students are unaware of the benefit TVET opportunities give
them. An entrenched and largely historically-biased outlook that a TVET
system reflects a deficit approach to education and training still prevails
in many countries. New TVET activity in developing countries such as the
former Soviet Republics of Central Asia, Vietnam, and Indonesia remains
constrained by an outlook that TVET is inferior to a university education.
This outlook prevails despite skill shortages in key industries, including
mine operations, transport infrastructure, civil construction, plumbing,
and automotive technologies. This situation is not necessarily the fault of
The South African National Qualifi-
cations Framework (SANQF)
The SANQF was implemented with
the intention of integrating educa-
tion and training in order to boost
skill and productivity levels and to
facilitate mobility and progression
within training and career paths.
The SANQF provides a mechanism
for awarding qualifications based
on the achievement of specified
learning outcomes prescribed by
industry. The national qualifications
framework (NQF) allows for accu-
mulation of credits and recognition
of prior learning, which promotes
the culture of life-long learning.
Source: International Journal of Vocational
Education and Training. Vol. 17, number 2

Principles and Strategies of a Successful TVET Program
the TVET program or the country, but in many cases is due to history and
geography.
Many TVET programs are established in urban areas owing to the cen-
trality of industry linkages in vocational education and training and the
overall advantages of a larger population. Rural and remote areas are
often left out of the TVET mix, and as a result of this, rural TVET colleges
become under-resourced and lose relevance. Frequently, rural youth move
to urban areas seeking further education and employment. Not having the
required skill base, such youth face lengthy periods of unemployment or
under-employment and cannot contribute to a developing economy. This
situation aggravates the ever present youth bulge which eventually leads