Abstract
This dissertation aims to unpack a number of contradictions, including those between:
• High youth unemployment and NEET rate on the one hand, and governmental initiatives and continuous severe skills shortage on the other;
• increased importance and expectations of the TVET sector in skill development employment, and continued negative stereotypes and stigma perceptions typically associated with this sector and graduates struggle in the labour markets; and
• an expected closer alignment between the introduction of a more practical-oriented new NC(V) curriculum and its ‘rejection’ by the industry.
The central research question informing this study is what different stakeholders perceive TVET engineering graduates’ employability. Two theoretical frameworks are used to guide this empirical collection of qualitative data: the human capital theory and the capability theory. To answer the research questions, data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, ranging from college graduates, employed and unemployed, their employers, college lecturers and management, and those from SETA and professional bodies.
Data confirm the importance of various employability asset categories. Participants' perceptions of TVET graduates’ employability vary, despite agreement on closer alignment between TVET (particularly the new NC(V) qualification) with requirements and expectations of the engineering discipline. Practical matters as well as persistent negative perceptions seem to remain the biggest limitations in the positive realisation of employability and employment for TVET engineering graduates.