My venture into the field of ABET (Adult Basic Education and Training) began in 1994 as a community based tutor and coordinator of ABET programs. In the past six years, setting up and co-ordinating ABET programs together with individuals and organisations, has been my main endeavour. This experience has led me to the realisation that the key to successful literacy programmes is attendance and the motivation of learners. Since I have not had much experience working within industry, my impressions and picture of ABET classes conducted at the workplace have always been vague, so I chose this area of focus for two reasons. Firstly, this would widen my knowledge in workplace literacy programmes by reading widely on the topic, and secondly, it would afford me the opportunity to meet and find out attitudes from learners themselves. I would be able to find out and see personally what is actually taking place at the floor level in ABET classes in this sector. Since ABET classes are offered to learners at the workplace, I wanted to know about their aspirations and gain first hand knowledge of their motivation to attend, more so because of the current focus on the promotion of literacy in commerce and industry. Thus, this study aims to find out whether workers are motivated to attend ABET classes in the workplace. The place where I conducted my research is the Beacon Sweet and Chocolate factory in the Mobeni Industrial area of Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The following dissertation examines skills development for women at the poorer ends of the informal economy through a study of members of the Self-Employed Women's Union (SEWU) who were trained in blockmaking in 1996. Since that time, the women have established the microenterprise, Vezi Khono (meaning 'Show the Skills' in Zulu) in the rural area of Ndwedwe in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. The dissertation explores the impact this training has had on incomes in the short and medium term, the opposition the women faced and the ability of training to overcome such obstacles, the role of government in skills development strategies, and concludes with ways in which skills development can be improved to better meet the needs women in the informal economy in establishing more sustainable enterprises. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.