Thesis (M.Ed.) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The majority of the young adult offenders have a low level of education and are without the proper skills desired by employers. Vocational rehabilitation programme offered to young adult offenders seem ineffective in preparing young adult offenders for better lives after release. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible intervention strategies for improving vocational rehabilitation programme offered to young adult offenders at Polokwane Correctional Services Centre. Focus was also on the challenges faced by young adult offenders during the implementation of vocational rehabilitation programmes for the young adult offenders. Qualitative research approach was applied using case study design. Semi-structured interviews, focus group and documents analysis were employed to gather data. The major research findings indicated that:  Young adult offenders receive insufficient and inadequate vocational rehabilitation training due to lack of qualified trainers for specific field.  Young adult offenders often skip classes due to shortage of prison officers who can escort them to their classes.  There is lack of resources such as textbooks, apparatus to conduct practicals for engineering studies and skills development programmes.  There is insufficient support and motivation to the young adult offenders from the management and educational staff. It was recommended that:  Enough qualified trainers and section heads should be appointed to conduct vocational rehabilitation training to the young adult offenders.  Enough prison officers should be appointed to escort young adult offenders from cells to classroom to avoid the issue of skipping lessons.  Sufficient resources such as textbooks and apparatus to conduct practicals must be provided to centre should be made in order to provide support and motivation to young adult offenders.

Reentry programs have been demonstrated to reduce recidivism. These same programs experience high attrition rates that degrade effectiveness and reduce capacity. Recidivism rates are reported as over 77% after 5 years from release which negatively impact society, victims and the released offenders. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to examine recently released offenders' insights regarding attrition from reentry programs to provide program administrators with themes that may be useful in addressing attrition. Social learning theory was used to frame the study. Audio recordings were collected during semistructured interviews with 21 reentry program participants. The recordings were transcribed and organized by stage and individual participant. The data was then coded to develop emergent themes about attrition. The themes were unawareness of reentry programs, inefficient learning processes, and lack of cooperative relationships. The themes that offer insight into the self-reported feelings were optimism turns to frustration when learned skills do not provide the expected outcomes and willingness to inform others about the reentry program. Results may provide reentry program administrators with insights to improve the design and execution of reentry programs to facilitate completion by high-risk offenders, which may lower the risk of recidivism.