The level of unemployment in Lesotho has reached an alarming rate and this situation is compounded by massive mine retrenchments (Central Bank of Lesotho, 2001: 22). Given this background, it is imperative to gain a deeper understanding of the career life histories of retrenched Basotho migrant labourers in order to explain their perceptions/attitudes regarding education. In-depth individual interviews with 26 retrenched mineworkers were conducted for collecting data and a grounded theory approach was followed in analysing the data.

The life histories of the men were critically investigated, from the time before they were employed in the mines, to the stage when they were working in the mining industries. The enquiry continued to a stage when they were retrenched from the mines. Their lives after retrenchment were looked at to establish whether they had acquired skills whilst they were employed in the mines. The objective was to determine whether the skills acquired were useful to them after retrenchment and if they could secure them employment in other sectors of the economy besides the mines. The study revealed that most of the migrant labourers had not acquired other skills besides those that were offered in the mines. As a result, all of the men were unemployed because they lacked skills that were relevant to the economy of Lesotho.

Retrenched migrant labourers reported that education was important, especially for their children. For them, they indicated that they could pursue education if they would be employed in the mines again of it is offered where they would be employed, on the job training. The question is whether these men will secure employment in other sectors in Lesotho given that they lack relevant skills. It is advisable, therefore, for the government of Lesotho to facilitate career guidance in the country to encourage these men to acquire marketable skills and to promote employment creation.

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