The Transition of Youth from School to Work: Issues and Policies (IIEP, 2000, 188 p.): Chapter V. Youth and work in South Africa: issues, experiences and ideas from a young democracy by Adrienne Bird: Introduction

The Transition of Youth from School to Work: Issues and Policies (IIEP, 2000, 188 p.)

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Summary

Introduction by David Atchoarena

Chapter I. From initial education to working life: making transition work by Marianne Durand-Drouhin and Richard Sweet

Introduction

1. The purposes and outcomes of the OECD Thematic Review

2. Changes in young people's transition to work during the 1990s

3. The transitions are taking longer

4. Changing patterns of participation in education and training

5. The key features of effective transition systems

6. Well-organized pathways that connect initial education with work, further study or both

7. Workplace experience combined with education

8. Tightly-knit safety nets for those at risk

9. Good information and guidance

10. Effective institutions and processes

11. No single model - what counts is giving priority to youth

Chapter II. Training unemployed youth in Latin America: same old sad story? by Claudio de Moura Castro and Aim�e Verdisco

Introduction

1. On the elusive art of training

2. Training to improve employability: experiences from Latin America

3. Lessons

4. Conclusion: are youth training programmes still a good idea?

Chapter III. Transition from school to work in Korea: reforms to establish a new pathway structure across education and the labour market by Kioh Jeong

Introduction

1. Economic adjustment and youth in Korea

2. Roles of institutions in school-to-work transition

3. From school to work: business and industry involvement

4. Ongoing education reform and implications for youth

5. Conclusions: developing pathways

Chapter IV. The integration of youth into the informal sector: the Kenyan experience by Ahmed K. Ferej

Introduction

1. Background

2. The growth of the informal sector in Kenya

3. Vocationalization of the formal education system

4. Accessibility to skill training in the informal sector

5. Implications for education and training

Conclusion

Chapter V. Youth and work in South Africa: issues, experiences and ideas from a young democracy by Adrienne Bird

Introduction

1. Unemployment and recession

2. Social dimensions of unemployment

3. Government responses to unemployment

4. School and skill issues for young people

5. Government responses - education and training

6. What does this all mean from the perspective of a young person?

Conclusion

IIEP publications and documents

The International Institute for Educational Planning

Back cover

Introduction

South Africa held its first democratic election in April 1994. From this vantage point it is possible to look both back and forward. Looking back does not just mean looking at the apartheid heritage, but at shifts which have occurred since 1994. It is therefore possible to begin to evaluate the short-term impact of the new government's interventions. Looking forward reveals the imperative to prioritize and plan optimum-impact implementation measures against a daunting range of challenges is all too clear.

This paper starts by providing an overview of the labour market and the position of young people within it. The analysis does not provide a highly textured understanding of the social position of young people, but even an overview is not complete without some consideration of the effects of HIV/AIDS and poverty. The paper then describes the education and training system and outlines the ways it is being moulded to support economic and employment growth and social development in the country.

Against this backdrop, the conclusion provides some reflection on policy implementation challenges which lie ahead and some of the ideas under discussion.