Informal Apprenticeship in Zambia

2011

Formal training system, in most of countries in Southern and Eastern Africa, is only the tip of an ice-berg, as most of young women and men acquire skills through informal apprentices, which is cost effective, easily accessible, have low entry barriers and results in better outcomes in terms of employment. However, informal apprenticeships have several shortcomings as well, which can lead to exploitation of young women and men. Considering the importance of informal apprenticeships for promoting youth employment, the ILO initiated a programme for upgrading informal apprenticeships. In Southern and Eastern Africa, studies were undertaken in Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia and a pilot project was implemented in Tanzania. Lessons learnt from these studies and the pilot project led to refining strategies for informal apprenticeships, which were implemented in Zimbabwe on a larger scale. The programme is highly successful and the governments of Zimbabwe and Tanzania are mainstreaming this approach as a national programme for skills development and youth employment. This paper presents findings of the studies and lessons learnt from the initiatives to upgrade informal apprenticeships.

2009

Analyses the practices, institutions and the outcomes of informal apprenticeship in Tanzania. A survey was conducted in Mtwara and Lindi (Southern Tanzania), interviewing 114 MCs, 378 apprentices and 140 skilled workers in car mechanics, electricity services, tailors, carpentry, plumbers, local art, and food processing. In addition, qualitative interviews in 20 workshops generated further insights into informal rules and practices.

1995

This study examines the structures and processes that assist in the training of youth who aspire to become artisans working in the informal sector. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the report. Chapter t auuLezzco pol:t:zal and enrioeconomic developments in post-independence Tanzania. Chapter 3 considers education, training, and youth problems and maps the pathways that exist between educational provision, vocational training, and employment in the formal and informal sectors. It includes results of a small survey of primary school pupils and informal sector youth that considers their aspirations, expectations, and opinions about education, training, and employment. Chapter 4 describes the provision of assistance and vocational training by governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Chapter 5 focuses on the informal sector. It examines the government's acknowledgment of the socioeconomic importance of the informal sector and to provide for and encourage its future development. Examples of informal sector enterprises are examined. Chapter 6 presents each type of training provision operating in the country as a case study. Chapter 7 considers such factors as the following: function of primary and secondary education, suggestions to enhance current training provision and future recurrent training needs, improvement of the profile of women operators, and models to introduce innovation in rural and urban enterprises. Appendixes include interview schedules and questionnaires. (Contains approximately 125 references. (YLB)

UDS International Journal of Development, 2021

Apprenticeship training is one of the several means of developing the skills and competencies of the workforce in every economy. The small and micro-scale engineering enterprises since their inception, have been contributing towards the development of the country. This is particularly so in the manufacturing and engineering sectors where local tools, equipment and machinery are produced and serviced. The Sunyani magazine has become an emerging informal industrial zone where technical skills development is offered to individuals across different areas of engineering. This paper examined the nature of apprenticeship skills development and the associated challenges in an informal industrial zone through a cross-sectional survey. The findings suggest that on-the-job training model without pre- or post-training exams or test characterised the training of apprentices. During the skills development process of the apprentices, the master craftsmen examine the progress of the apprentices to ...

Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 2021

Skills training in the informal economy, known as informal apprenticeship, caters to the skills needs of millions of young people in the Global South. While it predates the development of formal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems, it was not until the ‘discovery’ of the informal economy in the 1970s that attention was drawn to this important system of training. Despite the importance of informal apprenticeship, it is striking that there has been a paucity of academic research on education and training and the informal economy this millennium. Whilst there have continued to be papers written by staff of international development agencies, academic accounts are now rare. This paper explores the role of informal apprenticeship in the human development of informal apprentices. It presents new data on informal apprenticeship and engages with earlier academic and international policy papers on informal apprenticeship, in an attempt to open new ways of theorisin...

2019

The Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) piloted Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessments on worksites or project sites. The purpose of this programme was to equip the informal sector personnel with nationally recognised qualifications. The various skills that such personnel acquire through these worksites are usually unrecognised and uncertified, which limits their participation in various national projects. It was recognised that even though the informal sector mentorship programmes equip the workforce with technical competence and vast experience, there is usually partial compliance to Occupational, Health, Safety and Environment (OHSE) standards in the workshops and worksites. In addition, there is limited value addition by the informal sector of various goods and services. This paper seeks to explore strategies on how to enhance knowledge, skills and attitudes of the informal sector. The specific objectives of this paper are as...