In order to enhance productivity, stimulate competitiveness, and bring about sustainable economic development, skills development is vital. Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plays an important role in the provision of the skills, knowledge, attitude, and values needed for the development and has emerged as one of the most effective human resource development strategies that African countries need in order to train and modernize their technical workforce for rapid industrialization and national development. Therefore, skill training is important for sustainable industrialization and poverty reduction in terms of creating a critical mass of technically and entrepreneurially qualified people, who are able to stimulate investment opportunities, create jobs and increase competitive productivity, which can be ensured by a well trained workforce. TVET ensures this through its practical application as opposed to theory, and on acquisition of skills as opposed to acquisition of knowledge. TVET therefore prepares learners for careers based on blue-collar and practical activities. It is a training opportunity in which the learner participates and directly develops specific skills and expertise. However, considering the numerous problems facing sub-Saharan Africa in terms of development, TVET is not only important but it is a prerequisite if at all these problems are to be alleviated. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the current environment in which TVET systems in sub-Saharan Africa operate and to highlight some of the reforms that are underway in a number of countries by critically reviewing some of these problems and the limitations to the growth of this sector and how TVET could be used in alleviating them