National Skills Development Strategy III

The key driving force of this strategy is improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the skills development system. This strategy represents an explicit commitment to encouraging the linking of skills development to career paths, career development and promoting sustainable employment and in-work progression.
NSDS III seeks to encourage and actively support the integration of workplace training with theoretical learning, and to facilitate the journey individuals make from school, college or university, or even from periods of unemployment, to sustained employment and in-work progression.
Emphasis is placed on training to enable trainees to enter the formal workforce or create a livelihood for themselves. The emphasis is particularly on those who do not have relevant technical skills or adequate reading, writing and numeracy skills to enable them to access employment.
Promotion of basic numeracy and literacy is a project led by the Department of Basic Education; DHET is primarily concerned with post-basic literacy and numeracy. Nevertheless, the two departments will need to cooperate closely on this front, but without confusing or conflating the leadership roles of these departments in their respective areas.