Over-engineered and under-supported Why building institutions matters more than designing systems

Abstract

This paper examines two key sets of institutions in South Africa's post-apartheid skills development architecture: the sector education and training authorities and the technical and vocational education and training colleges. Drawing primarily on a synthesis of international and South African research, supplemented by focus groups with industry associations and workplace interviews, this paper argues that both sets of institutions have been undermined by an over-engineered regulatory and governance framework derived from New Public Management and the 'global toolkit' of vocational education reform. Rather than building institutional capacity, successive policy interventions have layered bureaucratic compliance mechanisms onto fragile institutions, alienating employers, distorting skills planning data, and undermining quality. What is required instead is an institution-building approach, one in which the state actively supports, guides, and coordinates rather than merely regulates and evaluates.