Can we get employer engagement right? Reflections from research and policy work in low- and middle-income countries

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Abstract

Employer-engagement is frequently positioned as the holy grail of improving vocational education and training (VET) provision. In this seminar, Professor Stephanie Allais, from the Centre for Researching Education and Labour at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, will draw her on centre’s research and policy work in African and Asian countries to highlight the complexities in engaging employers. Extensive structures exist to engage employers in curriculum design and qualification development in these countries, yet VET continues to be seen as not meeting industry needs. Policy is premised on a belief that employers will engage if only the right mechanisms are implemented. In challenging this view, Professor Allais will explore challenges employers experience in articulating their skill needs, and why a policy focus on developing occupational standards and competencies does not result in greater employer engagement.

 

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Bio

Stephanie Allais is Research Chair of Skills Development and Professor of Education at the Centre for Researching Education and Labour, University of the Witwatersrand, where she researches international education and development, focused on education/work relationships. Her books include Knowledge, Curriculum, and Preparation for Work (Brill/SENSE) with Yael Shalem, and Selling Education Out: National Qualifications Frameworks and the Abandonment of Knowledge (Sense). She is an editor of the Journal of Vocational Education and Training, and on the editorial boards of various other journals. Previously, she was a fellow at the Centre for Educational Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, and a research associate at the International Labour Organization.

Event Details

Friday 26 September 2025
16:00 - 17:00
Seminar Room G/H (Department of Education)
Public
Department of Education
Free

Event Speakers

Professor Stephanie Allais
Centre for Researching Education and Labour, University of the Witwatersrand

Organiser

Department of Education