Public and private provision of vocational education and training (or Further Education and Training in the South African usage) exist in a relationship with each other but are rarely considered together. An analysis is provided of recent quantitative evidence on both sectors in South Africa in order to advance the case for further policy and research work on the inter-connectivities of the two sectors. This particularly emphasises the need for better conceptions of qual ity and a more serious focus on equity in both sectors.