Now they know we are real : skills development and women in the informal economy.

Abstract

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The following dissertation examines skills development for women at

the poorer ends of the informal economy through a study of members

of the Self-Employed Women's Union (SEWU) who were trained in

blockmaking in 1996. Since that time, the women have established

the microenterprise, Vezi Khono (meaning 'Show the Skills' in Zulu) in

the rural area of Ndwedwe in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The dissertation explores the impact this training has had on

incomes in the short and medium term, the opposition the women

faced and the ability of training to overcome such obstacles, the role

of government in skills development strategies, and concludes with

ways in which skills development can be improved to better meet the

needs women in the informal economy in establishing more

sustainable enterprises.