A national education policy proposal to integrate adult basic education and training
(ABET) in South Africa came about largely because of pressure from trade unions to
introduce training at the workplace which would make workers more marketable in case
of retrenchment. Workplace ABET programmes provide literacy and numeracy skills,
after which some workers have a chance of joining further training opportunities provided
by their employers. The Independent examinations Board (JEB) provides adult
examinations and certifies those learners who pass. This study aims to find out whether
the ABET certificates issued by the IBB, particularly Level 3 certificates, open up job
opportunities for their holders.
A qualitative approach was adopted to research the views of ABET learners and their
managers. A small scale survey was undertaken in which four industries providing ABET
in the Gauteng area were visited. Interviews were conducted to access information on
learners’ and managers’ views on ABET certification. This proved a suitable method for
the study because the researcher managed to build confidence in learners and at times
used the learners’ home language to clarify questions.
The study concludes that ABET empowered learners by giving them reading, writing and
communication skills. These skills helped them in building their confidence when
communicating with their supervisors and to work with less supervision. On the other
hand the study showed that there was no direct relationship between the certificates that
learners earned and work opportunities. Managers could not clearly identify the kind of
work that learner who had attained ABET Level 3 certificates could perform.
The recommendations call for a clear' policy by both unions and employers on ABET.
Workers need to be rewarded for the effort they put into learning, even if the rewards are
not the reasons which lead them to learn.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/14736 |
| Date | 06 June 2014 |
| Creators | Mohlotsane, Mapule |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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