Migrants' self-perception of technical skills and occupational realities: A case of Zimbabwean School-Leaver Migrants in Botswana (original) (raw)

Migrants’ self-perception of technical skills and occupational realities

European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 2022

The level of technical skills affects the integration of migrants into the host country’s labour market. This study investigated the relationship between Zimbabwean school-leaver migrants’ self-perception of technical skills and occupational realities. A mixed-method research design was used in this study and systematic sampling was used to select respondents for the study. Questionnaires were administered on 60 respondents to collect quantitative data whilst 19 respondents provided qualitative data using semi-structured interviews. Findings suggested that most low-skilled migrants from Zimbabwe faced several challenges including failure to secure formal employment, obtain work and residence permits because of their low-level technical skills and qualifications. This challenge further affects migrants’ social integration and economic status in the host country. Findings also revealed that there are no strategies to provide skills to migrant labour to assist them to join the mainstre...

CHAPTER 10 Relevance of Migrants' Technical Skills for Sustainable Livelihoods: A Case of Low-skilled Zimbabwean Migrants in Botswana's Southeast District

Relevance of Migrants’ Technical Skills for Sustainable Livelihoods: A Case of Low-skilled Zimbabwean Migrants in Botswana’s Southeast District, 2024

Several Zimbabwean school leavers migrate from the country without specialised training to look for employment in neighbouring countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relevance of low-skilled migrants' technical skills in Botswana's labour market to sustain livelihoods. A mixed method research design was used for this study where 60 questionnaires collected quantitative data, whilst 19 interviews collected qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Programme on Social Sciences (SPSS), and the results were presented using tables and bar graphs. Narratives were used to present and analyse qualitative data. Random sampling was used to select Zimbabwean school leaver migrants as research participants. This study, grounded in the relevance theory by Sperber and Wilson (1981), indicates that relevance is interpreted from social context and reflective thinking processes enhanced by educational intervention. It is suggested as a result of the findings that low-skilled migrants from Zimbabwe perceived that their technical skills were relevant to their jobs, and the skills enabled them to do different jobs in technical skills should not be viewed as only meeting local labour market skill needs but internationally benchmarking those technical skill requirements for the evolving world of work. Since this study was on a small scale, larger studies could be carried out in other districts of Botswana and neighbouring countries where low-skilled Zimbabweans are migrating to obtain broader conclusions that can be generalised.

Investigation on possible mismatch between TVET skills acquired in high school and workplace skills needed by Zimbabwean migrants in Botswana: a case study of Botswana’s South East District

Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 2021

ABSTRACT Technical skills are those specialized hands-on skills and competences needed to perform specific tasks. The study investigated the potential mismatch between Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) skills acquired in high school and workplace skills needed by Zimbabwean school-leaver migrants in Botswana. A mixed method research design was used for the triangulation of data collection and analysis. Systematic sampling was used in the research. Questionnaires were administered to 60 school-leaver migrants and 19 responded to the semi-structured interviews. Quantitative results were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to handle large statistical information with minimum errors. Qualitative results were summarized under each research question. The study established that most Zimbabwean school-leaver migrants had done a TVET subjects at school and were working in sectors related to the TVET subjects they had done at school, showing a relationship of TVET skills acquired in high school and the needed workplace skills in Botswana. This is supported by a positive significant Pearson correlation of 0.01. School TVET must orient learners to the use of tools and equipment and, equip learners with technical skills that can be adapted in the workplace to mitigate a possible learner skills-job mismatch. Study findings created a feedback loop for policymakers and teachers to improve the TVET system and make it more relevant to the changing skills needed in the workplace.

CHAPTER 12 Challenges of Skills Transfer for Zimbabwean Migrant Workers in the Diaspora: A Systematic Review

Challenges of Skills Transfer for Zimbabwean Migrant Workers in the Diaspora: A Systematic Review, 2024

Southern Africa for migrants retooling and skilling to fully participate in the mainstream labour market of the host country. For policymakers, governments must simultaneously consider the implications of their labour regulations when formulating immigration laws, aligning them with international labour and immigration laws and agreements.

An investigation into the impact of the Zimbabwe Special Permit on migrant Zimbabwean workers’ access to decent work in South Africa

2018

Abstract: The introduction of the Zimbabwe Special Dispensation Permit (ZSP) was met with enthusiasm as migrant Zimbabwean workers anticipated further progress in their economic lives. The (ZSP) is the successor to a permit issued by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) named the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP), which was implemented in April 2009. The ZSP was introduced in 2014 after the expiry of the (DZP). It is illegal in South Africa for employers to employ individuals without proper documentation. Some employers have taken advantage of the illegality of some of the Zimbabwean migrants by paying them lower wages since these workers cannot negotiate for better working conditions and remuneration for fear of being exposed to authorities. This study investigates the impact of the ZSP on migrant Zimbabwean workers through the lens of decent work. In examining the impact of the ZSP on attainment of decent work by migrant Zimbabwean workers, this study uses Harvey’s theory ...

Skills recognition mechanisms for selected occupational profiles of migrant workers in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa

Feasibility study, 2023

This research forms part of the three-year Joint Programme on Labour Migration Governance for Development and Integration (JLMP Priority) in Africa (2018-2021), developed to improve the governance of labour migration to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration in Africa, as committed to in relevant frameworks of the African Union (AU), Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and relevant international Programmes such as the AU’s Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa and Plan of Action (2018–2030), the ILO’s Convention No. 97 , Migration for Employment (Revised) (ILO, 1949), Convention No. 143, Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) (ILO, 1975) and the global and continental policy frameworks guiding labour migration and labour mobility in Africa (ILO, 2019a). This research has been undertaken as a feasibility study with limited scope. The research specifically explores the feasibility, including the viability, implementability and suitability, of skills recognition mechanisms for selected occupational profiles (welding and domestic work) of migrant workers in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa to gain access to formal labour markets.

Emmigration from Zimbabwe: Migrant perspectives

This article explores migration from Zimbabwe to the UK and South Africa and the experiences of the receiving countries from the perspective of the migrants. It provides a critical examination of the impact of structural barriers in both the UK and South Africa on the economic experiences of migrants. The effects of immigration status, due to the exclusion of asylum-seekers in the UK and the presence of undocumented migrants in the UK and South Africa, is explored in relation to employment and remittance activities. The clear evidence of the deskilling taking place among the majority of Zimbabwean migrants – and its impact on remittances and other forms of transnational support – is also examined. The article concludes that any real commitment to alleviating global poverty on the part of the world’s migrant receiving countries must include a re-examination of barriers to employment, education and the use of skills, since these barriers not only have a short-term impact on remittances to the sending country and fiscal capacity to contribute in the receiving country, but will also impact on longer-term development should the migrants return to their country of origin.

Developing a Conceptual Framework of Skills Immigration in South Africa

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014

South Africa is in the throes of a skills crisis. This situation is seriously hampering the country's economic progress and global participation. This study focuses on the analysis of skills migration in South Africa, and specifically aims to provide a conceptual framework for better cognition of the skills situation in South Africa. This crisis is largely due to the failure of the national education and training system to supply the economy with much needed skills required to support economic growth and job creation. The findings of this study indicated that there are various factors that are contributing to the skills shortages in the country. Some of the factors include: poor education standards, emigration, crime and HIV. It must be noted that these factors cannot be addressed overnight. Hence, this paper emphasised the role that skilled foreign workers can play in alleviating the skills shortages in the country. The contribution of foreign workers could be viewed as a short to medium solution to the skills crisis. Finally, this study has confirmed the findings of similar studies undertaken by the Centre for Development and Enterprise that opening the doors to high-skilled immigration can only serve as a means of supplementing the skills pool and hence contributing to the economic growth of the country.

The vocational school fallacy revisited: the employment experiences of secondary technical school graduates in Zimbabwe

1991

School-based technical and vocational training remains an attractive although controversial policy option for politicians a:id policy makers in developing countries. This article presents and discusses the findings of recently completed research that assesses the employment experiences of secondary technical school graduates in Zimbabwe during the 1980s.(*) In 1986, the government of Zimbabwe embarked on a comprehensivt? strategy to vocationalise the curriculum of the country's 1500 secondary schools. Analysing the employment experiences of the outputs of what until very recently was the only specialised secondary technical school in Zimbabwe should provide therefore important insights into the likely success of the government's current nationwide vocationalisation initiative. These insights are also likely to be of considerable relevance for other developing countries, particularly in Anglophone Africa, which interested in promoting technical and vocational training <TVT) in schools.

Bridging the skills gap in Zimbabwe

Capacity Building for IT in Education in Developing Countries, 1998

The Zimbabwe education and training system, as is the case in any other emerging or developing nation, is experiencing problems and challenges resulting from changes in external factors such as technology, society's values and work structures. There is a need for justifications and mechanisms to build sustainable local capacities for the provision of an effective and efficient education and training system. An outline of core competencies and key qualifications required by the Zimbabwe Information Technology (IT) industry in order to empower individuals and organizations to realize their full potential is an essential ingredient for Zimbabwe's successful use ofIT.