Article 2025

Vocational skill development strategies of manufacturing companies in six low- and middle-income countries: an exploratory study

AS
Allais, Stephanie Matseleng
 SV
Schöer, Volker
Journal of Vocational Education and Training
Journal · Vol. 77 · Issue 4 · pp. 1116-1146
Abstract

This paper provides insights into relationships between formal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other types of on-the-job training in manufacturing companies in four Asian (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) and two African (Ethiopia and South Africa) countries. There are two components to the contribution. The first is that when different occupational levels and stages (pre- or in-employment training) are considered, we see a more nuanced picture of TVET than the common bleak story. Uptake of qualifications at the hiring stage follows an occupational hierarchy, from general worker to operator to technician, but with some differences by industry and country. Our study suggests that companies that take training seriously appear to do so across different types of training, and in some cases, formal TVET appears to be part of a broader training regime of companies. The second contribution draws on critical reflection on methodological choices made at various points of the research, and an analysis of the messiness and difficulties we encountered in the research process. We argue that the terminology available to differentiate different types of training are limited in understanding and analysing as well as developing potential policy interventions for training in low- and middle-income countries. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Technical and vocational education and training On-the-job training low- and middle-income countries manufacturing companies vocational skills development

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Skills Development and Professor at the Centre for Researching Education and Labour, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, Centre for Researching Education and Labour, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Funding & Acknowledgements
Universität Zürich, UZH
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint programme R4D [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]; South African National Research Foundation [SARCHI Chair: Skills Development]; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint R4D programme [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]. Colleagues in all the countries in the study contributed to collecting the background research for this paper, including Hadush Berhe, Mezgebe Atsebeha, and Gebretsadik Gebru from the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Abul Kalam and Sheikh Shahana Shimu BRAC university; Bounseng Khammounty, Santiphap Meunmany, and Keonakhone Khounvilay Vocational Education Development Institute, Vientiane, Laos PDR; Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Vi Hoang Dang, and Hong Van Bui from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Seyhah Ven, Naron Veung, and Boparath Sry from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Markus Maurer from Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland was the lead investigator of the project. Andrea Kreuzer, Carmel Marock, Michael Morlok, and Atonu Rabbani were global backstoppers for the research. The research conducted was part of the Skills for Industry Project, https://phzh.ch/en/Research/skills-for-industry/, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. Additional support was obtained from the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, funded by the South African National Research Foundation.
Direktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit, DSC
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint programme R4D [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]; South African National Research Foundation [SARCHI Chair: Skills Development]; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint R4D programme [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]. Colleagues in all the countries in the study contributed to collecting the background research for this paper, including Hadush Berhe, Mezgebe Atsebeha, and Gebretsadik Gebru from the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Abul Kalam and Sheikh Shahana Shimu BRAC university; Bounseng Khammounty, Santiphap Meunmany, and Keonakhone Khounvilay Vocational Education Development Institute, Vientiane, Laos PDR; Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Vi Hoang Dang, and Hong Van Bui from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Seyhah Ven, Naron Veung, and Boparath Sry from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Markus Maurer from Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland was the lead investigator of the project. Andrea Kreuzer, Carmel Marock, Michael Morlok, and Atonu Rabbani were global backstoppers for the research. The research conducted was part of the Skills for Industry Project, https://phzh.ch/en/Research/skills-for-industry/, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. Additional support was obtained from the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, funded by the South African National Research Foundation.
Mekelle University, MU
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint programme R4D [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]; South African National Research Foundation [SARCHI Chair: Skills Development]; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint R4D programme [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]. Colleagues in all the countries in the study contributed to collecting the background research for this paper, including Hadush Berhe, Mezgebe Atsebeha, and Gebretsadik Gebru from the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Abul Kalam and Sheikh Shahana Shimu BRAC university; Bounseng Khammounty, Santiphap Meunmany, and Keonakhone Khounvilay Vocational Education Development Institute, Vientiane, Laos PDR; Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Vi Hoang Dang, and Hong Van Bui from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Seyhah Ven, Naron Veung, and Boparath Sry from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Markus Maurer from Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland was the lead investigator of the project. Andrea Kreuzer, Carmel Marock, Michael Morlok, and Atonu Rabbani were global backstoppers for the research. The research conducted was part of the Skills for Industry Project, https://phzh.ch/en/Research/skills-for-industry/, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. Additional support was obtained from the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, funded by the South African National Research Foundation.
BRAC University
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint programme R4D [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]; South African National Research Foundation [SARCHI Chair: Skills Development]; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint R4D programme [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]. Colleagues in all the countries in the study contributed to collecting the background research for this paper, including Hadush Berhe, Mezgebe Atsebeha, and Gebretsadik Gebru from the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Abul Kalam and Sheikh Shahana Shimu BRAC university; Bounseng Khammounty, Santiphap Meunmany, and Keonakhone Khounvilay Vocational Education Development Institute, Vientiane, Laos PDR; Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Vi Hoang Dang, and Hong Van Bui from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Seyhah Ven, Naron Veung, and Boparath Sry from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Markus Maurer from Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland was the lead investigator of the project. Andrea Kreuzer, Carmel Marock, Michael Morlok, and Atonu Rabbani were global backstoppers for the research. The research conducted was part of the Skills for Industry Project, https://phzh.ch/en/Research/skills-for-industry/, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. Additional support was obtained from the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, funded by the South African National Research Foundation.
National Research Foundation, NRF
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint programme R4D [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]; South African National Research Foundation [SARCHI Chair: Skills Development]; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint R4D programme [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]. Colleagues in all the countries in the study contributed to collecting the background research for this paper, including Hadush Berhe, Mezgebe Atsebeha, and Gebretsadik Gebru from the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Abul Kalam and Sheikh Shahana Shimu BRAC university; Bounseng Khammounty, Santiphap Meunmany, and Keonakhone Khounvilay Vocational Education Development Institute, Vientiane, Laos PDR; Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Vi Hoang Dang, and Hong Van Bui from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Seyhah Ven, Naron Veung, and Boparath Sry from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Markus Maurer from Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland was the lead investigator of the project. Andrea Kreuzer, Carmel Marock, Michael Morlok, and Atonu Rabbani were global backstoppers for the research. The research conducted was part of the Skills for Industry Project, https://phzh.ch/en/Research/skills-for-industry/, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. Additional support was obtained from the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, funded by the South African National Research Foundation.
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, SNSF
Grant: 400340_194006
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint programme R4D [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]; South African National Research Foundation [SARCHI Chair: Skills Development]; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint R4D programme [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]. Colleagues in all the countries in the study contributed to collecting the background research for this paper, including Hadush Berhe, Mezgebe Atsebeha, and Gebretsadik Gebru from the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Abul Kalam and Sheikh Shahana Shimu BRAC university; Bounseng Khammounty, Santiphap Meunmany, and Keonakhone Khounvilay Vocational Education Development Institute, Vientiane, Laos PDR; Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Vi Hoang Dang, and Hong Van Bui from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Seyhah Ven, Naron Veung, and Boparath Sry from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Markus Maurer from Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland was the lead investigator of the project. Andrea Kreuzer, Carmel Marock, Michael Morlok, and Atonu Rabbani were global backstoppers for the research. The research conducted was part of the Skills for Industry Project, https://phzh.ch/en/Research/skills-for-industry/, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. Additional support was obtained from the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, funded by the South African National Research Foundation.
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, SNSF
This work was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint programme R4D [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]; South African National Research Foundation [SARCHI Chair: Skills Development]; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through their joint R4D programme [SNSF grant number 400340_194006]. Colleagues in all the countries in the study contributed to collecting the background research for this paper, including Hadush Berhe, Mezgebe Atsebeha, and Gebretsadik Gebru from the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Abul Kalam and Sheikh Shahana Shimu BRAC university; Bounseng Khammounty, Santiphap Meunmany, and Keonakhone Khounvilay Vocational Education Development Institute, Vientiane, Laos PDR; Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Vi Hoang Dang, and Hong Van Bui from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Seyhah Ven, Naron Veung, and Boparath Sry from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Markus Maurer from Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland was the lead investigator of the project. Andrea Kreuzer, Carmel Marock, Michael Morlok, and Atonu Rabbani were global backstoppers for the research. The research conducted was part of the Skills for Industry Project, https://phzh.ch/en/Research/skills-for-industry/, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation through the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. Additional support was obtained from the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, funded by the South African National Research Foundation.
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