Bridging the TVET鈥搃ndustry divide: strengthening educator capacity and skills ecosystems for sustainable development
The research of Professor Volker Wedekind and Dr Jo-Anna Russon
The research
We study how vocational education can better prepare people for real jobs in real economies, and how educators and institutions can collaborate more effectively with industry.
Instead of viewing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a pipeline that produces “work‑ready” graduates, our work examines the relationships between educators, industry, policymakers and local communities that shape how skills are created and used. By strengthening these relationships, we help TVET institutions offer education that is relevant, equitable and empowering.
The challenges
Our work addresses a critical challenge at the heart of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education): how to ensure equitable, relevant and future‑focused TVET systems in both the UK and the Global South. TVET systems face persistent structural difficulties, including:
- weak connections between TVET institutions and industry, resulting in skills mismatches and limited progression opportunities for learners
- under‑resourced institutions and limited professional development pathways for vocational lecturers
- curriculum and policy frameworks that often fail to respond to local economic realities, especially in contexts where informal employment dominates
These challenges directly affect the ability of education systems to deliver inclusive, equitable, quality education and lifelong learning—the core mission of SDG 4. It also contributes directly to SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Engagements with TVET college managers in South Africa, highlighted the considerable effort that would be required to develop pathways for informal businesses to transition into formal partnerships with TVET colleges.
Dr Jo-Anna Russon
The response
Our research examines and strengthens the education–work relationship at the centre of TVET systems. We do this through:
- reconceptualising the role of TVET lecturers, positioning them as key mediators who navigate complex skills ecosystems rather than passive transmitters of skills.
- developing tools to help institutions build sustainable partnerships with industry, including the UNESCO UNEVOC TVET‑Industry Mapping Tool, designed to support colleges to analyse and improve their work‑based learning partnerships, and the Quality Vocational Lecturers (QVL) Model, which identifies five dimensions of quality and supports capacity‑building for educators and college leaders.
This approach addresses SDG4’s focus on inclusive, relevant, skills‑oriented education that leads to meaningful employment and lifelong opportunities.
Our work is dependent on partnerships globally and here in Nottingham. This includes university and institutional partnerships in Uganda, South Africa and the UK that provide a platform for building comparative insights and regional engagement.
Click on image to open PDF roadmap document (see page 4 for image)
We are continually inspired by the passion and resilience of TVET lecturers, many of whom work in under‑resourced environments yet remain deeply committed to supporting learners into meaningful work. This work is an important reminder that skills development is not just economic, but is profoundly social, shaped by individual and systemic realities of agency, power and opportunity.
Dr Jo-Anna Russon
Innovation
By systematically conceptualising the “TVET–Industry gap” as a structural barrier to innovation in TVET systems, the QVL Model and the UNESCO TVET-Industry Roadmap challenge dominant policy narratives rooted in human capital theory by foregrounding educator agency, local context, and social development goals. Together, these innovations reshape international understandings of what effective, equitable TVET looks like.
Our innovative research methods involve:
- Skills ecosystem analysis, drawing on cross‑country comparative work in Africa, the UK and global UNEVOC networks
- Collaborative tool development, involving iterative co‑design with UNESCO centres and TVET lecturers across multiple country contexts
- Participatory engagement workshops with TVET leaders, policymakers and industry stakeholders
Publications
The TVET-Industry Roadmap (2025), A Methodology for TVET Colleges to Map Actual and Potential Connections to Industry and Work, funded by the 2025 UNESCO UNEVOC Network Coaction Initiative
Wedekind, V., Russon, J., Zungu., Z., Liu, Z. & Li, M. (2025) . World Vocational and Technical Education, 1:2,192-218.
Wedekind, V., Russon, J., Liu, Z., Zungu, Z., & Li, M. (2024). . Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training, 7(2), 22.
McGrath, S. and Russon, J. (2023), , Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 38(2), 1-18.
Ramsarup, P., Russon. J. & McGrath, S. (2023) , Transitioning Vocational Education in Africa, Bristol: Bristol University Press.
Russon, J. & Wedekind, V. (2023) , in VET Africa 4.0 collective, Transitioning Vocational Education in Africa, Bristol: Bristol University Press.
Wedekind, V., Russon, J., Ramsarup, P., Monk, D., Metelerkamp, L. & McGrath, S. (2021) . International Journal of Training and Development, 25(4), pp.347-362.
Esmond, B, Schmees J. & Wedekind, V. (2026) Routledge. ISBN 9781041000945.