Abstract

Several critics have questioned the efficiency of learnerships in general in the South African education and human resources management environment. Concerns have been raised regarding the effective management within each sector education training authority (SETA), the management of finances within the respective SETA’s and whether the human resource development (HRD) strategy meets its targets. The main objective of this study was to identify the reasons behind this disparity in learners’ performance. If employed learners have a higher success rate than that of unemployed learners, then the assumption can be made that the objectives of the Skills Development Act (97 of 1998) are then not being met. However, this research has conversely shown that unemployed learners perform better in learnerships than employed learners. This paper offers academics insight into the difference between employed and unemployed learners’ performance during a learnership. If the purpose of the Skills Development Act, 97 of 1998, is to improve the quality life of workers and to assist work seekers in finding work: Why then are unemployment rates still on the increase in South Africa; are learnerships not being implemented correctly or, are employers not recruiting the correct profile of learners on a learnership programme?

Key words: Employed, unemployed, learners, learnership, performance, programme