SUMMARY
Collaborative leadership in skills development is fundamental for the success of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and state education institutions like Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) in promoting sustainable livelihoods and social wellbeing in communities. The purpose of this research was to find out how Nongovernmental Organizations and state education leaders collaborate in building skills, what challenges hamper collaboration and what should be done to improve collaboration. The qualitative research approach was used in this study and nine participants from five organizations were purposely selected and interviewed. The major findings indicated the existence of inadequate collaborative practices between NGOs and educational leaders, exacerbated by recurrent major challenges like disunity or fragmentation amongst NGOs, over dependence on external funding and weak capacity which hampered their sustainability as partners as well as skills developers. This study has not only re-emphasised the need for effective collaborative leadership between NGOs and educational leaders in South Africa, it has also provided suggestions to their numerous challenges.