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The purpose of this article was to examine social marketing strategies Adult Education and Training (AET) centres in South Africa use during entrepreneurship training programmes. The sample was drawn from AET centres of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province. The study used the qualitative approach (semi-structured interviews) to collect data from adult trainees and centre managers. However, the broader study upon which this article is based utilised mixed research methods, that is, quantitative and qualitative approaches. The main findings of the study reveal that the social marketing strategies that the AET centres apply to turn unemployed adults into entrepreneurs entails mobilising external stakeholders to create opportunities for trainees to access financial and non-financial support for the start-up and growth of micro-enterprises. The study tentatively concludes that social marketing strategies are effective tools AET centres can use to turn unemployed adults into entrepreneurs and facilitate socio-economic transformation in impoverished communities. As a practical implication for policy, there is need for policymakers at local and national levels to embrace social marketing to enhance the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training for poverty reduction among unemployed and vulnerable population groups.

Purpose: The concern in this article is that there is low interest in adult education and training (AET) programmes of the unemployed adults in developing countries. The purpose of the article is to determine the effects of social marketing efforts in motivating adult learners to acquire marketable skills for poverty reduction. Design/methodology/approach: The study used the qualitative (semi-structured interviews) method for data collection from 12 adult learners and five managers of AET centres of South Africa. The qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews helped the researcher to present the data from the perspective of the centre managers and adult learners on how the AET centres used social marketing efforts in motivating to acquire and utilise skills in entrepreneurial ventures. Findings: The findings reveal that the effects of social marketing efforts consisted of persuading adult learners to enrol for skills training programmes, to attract their engagement to acquire marketable skills and to form business groups or co-operatives as a means of transition from skills acquisition to entrepreneurial ventures. As elements of social marketing effort in the skills training delivery, the AET centres used teaching and learning approaches and motivated the adult learners to acquire skills. Practical implications: From the social marketing perspective, the practical implication of the findings for the policy consists of demonstrating the importance of social marketing efforts in skills training programmes to reduce poverty amongst poor and unemployed adults. The findings demonstrate the need for coordinated campaign activities at AET centre regional levels to motivate the engagement of the unemployed adults; hence, they will become aware of the benefits of the skills training programmes to improve their lives. Social implications: The lack of motivation is still the main barrier for participation in adult skills programmes, although there is significant progress made in many countries. In addition, social marketing efforts point to a need to promote, encourage and recognise participation from private sector for joint stakeholder cooperation. Originality/value: This article is unique because it provides empirical findings on how to mitigate the barriers blocking adult participation in skills training programmes by using the social marketing efforts in motivating them to acquire marketable skills. The article contributes to the body of knowledge by determining the effects of the social marketing efforts in motivating adult learners to acquire marketable skills for poverty reduction. The efforts entail developing and implementing campaigns to motivate adult learners in their communities and stakeholder cooperation.

Purpose: The unemployment rate among disadvantaged youths (aged 15-34 years) in large parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America has become a global concern. The concern in this article is that most WIL programmes could not facilitate a smooth WIL-to-work transition. The purpose of the article is to examine the roles of partner stakeholders in the features of an innovative WIL model influencing the labour market entry of the disadvantaged youths. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was suitable for examining the features of an innovative WIL model. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from seven managers of different firms and institutions, and ten trainees to examine the roles of partner stakeholders in the features of an innovative WIL model influencing the labour market entry of disadvantaged youths. Findings: The main findings reveal that local businesses and enterprises played important roles in participating in the design of the WIL curriculum, providing adequate mentorship for work experience and micro-placement to the trainees. Based on the findings, the author concludes that the partnership with stakeholders as an innovative WIL model contributed to the employability of disadvantaged youths through the acquisition of work experience and work-readiness. Practical implications: The implication of the findings is that the commitment of partner stakeholders ensures that WIL graduates continue to be employed. The commitment of partner stakeholders evident in this study is likely to continue creating better employment prospects for WIL graduates. Originality/value: Though stakeholder partnerships are common in WIL programmes and TVET, the innovativeness of this model lies in the features of WIL programmes, the roles and commitment of stakeholders including the outcomes of the partnerships.

This article outlines the results of a qualitative study, which investigated the adult non-formal education and training (NFET) centre linkages with external role-players in providing post-training support for the employment of graduates. The concern that informed this article is that adults who face long-term unemployment remain unemployed after completing the NFET programs in South Africa. The article reports on an empirical study conducted to investigate what constitutes NFET enabling environments for employment. The findings reveal that managers did not create adequate linkages that could enable graduates to access needed post-training support, community resources, public goods and services. The author concludes that without linking the NFET programs to external stakeholders, graduates will continue to find it difficult to be employed or to start small businesses which perpetuates unemployment and chronic poverty in South Africa.

This article analyses the perceptions of adult learners towards the use of constructivist approach in teaching and learning in non-formal education (NFE) centres of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The analysis is based on five principles of the constructivist theory of learning-interactive learning, collaborative learning, facilitating learning, authentic learning and learner-centred learning. The researcher used the mixed of stratified and purposive sampling methods to select six NFE centres and 12 (out of 200) learners who studied skills training and became self-employed. The data collection techniques were semi-structured interviews. From learners' perceptions, the findings reveal that the use of the constructivist principles enhanced or influenced adult learners' educational attainment in offering learners with experiences ranging from vocational skills to real-life problem-solving. Therefore, the researchers conclude that adult learners were motivated in learning new skills when facilitated using the constructivist approach. The practical and policy implication of the findings is that adult facilitators and managers of NFE programmes should take into consideration the constructivist approach of teaching and learning when designing the curriculum of non-formal education and training.

The purpose of this article is to assess the course content relevance in contributing to wage- or self-employment of adult non-formal education and training (NFET) in the context of South Africa. The concern that informed this article is that adults who face long-term unemployment due to a lack of marketable skills remain unemployed after completing NFET programmes. Findings reveal that in the private and few public centres, the course contents included vocational skills training, a component of practicum and entrepreneurial training in order to meet the needs and objectives of the formerly unemployed trainees. For graduates who participated in the private training centres and whose objective was to become self-employed, the training course contents contributed to starting of a micro-enterprise or co-operative. The author concludes that in most of the private centres and few public centres the course contents were relevant in contributing to self-employment of the graduates. The cause is that a number of centres provided vocational skills combined with business skills in order to enable graduates to be involved in income-generating activities.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way the adult non-formal education and training (NFET) centres motivated and empowered graduates to start their own micro-enterprises as individuals or as a group. The specific objectives are as follows: to find out the transforming factors fostering the utilisation of acquired skills into self-employment in micro-enterprises; to investigate challenges encountered in starting and managing micro-enterprises and to investigate short-term impact of the NFET programmes and micro-enterprises on living conditions of graduates. Design/methodology/approach: The research design was multiple case studies. Semi-structured interviews and field observations were used for data collection in the qualitative study. In the context of non-probability sampling, the study used the purposive sampling method to select five out of 20 self-employed graduates for one-on-one interviews. Case studies also comprised some observations of activities in their small businesses. Findings: The main findings reveal that "learning by doing" training approach and forming groups of entrepreneurs while being on the programme were major factors fostering the translation of acquired skills into micro-enterprises. Practical implications: The adult NFET is a tool to enable poor disadvantaged people to improve their well-being. However, this can be achieved if the livelihood skills training is combined with the creation of conducive environments to allow adult trainees become micro-entrepreneurs and self-reliant. Originality/value: The study contributes to the knowledge of effective entrepreneurial training programmes by demonstrating the importance of involving stakeholders from the local communities and designing post-training support mechanisms for self-employment prior to the training delivery. The centre managers should also motivate trainees to start micro-enterprises in groups or co-operatives while still on the training programmes.

This article outlines the results of a qualitative study, which investigated the adult non-formal education and education (NFET) centre linkages with external role-players in providing post-training support for the employment of graduates. The concern that informed this article is that adults who face long-term unemployment remain unemployed after completing the NFET programmes in South Africa. The article reports on an empirical study conducted to investigate what constitutes NFET enabling environments for employment. The findings reveal that most managers did not create institutional centre linkages that could enable graduates having access to essential post-training support, community resources, public goods and services. The author concludes that without linking the NFET programmes to external stakeholders, graduates will continue finding it difficult to be integrated in the labour market which perpetuates unemployment and chronic poverty in South Africa.

Non-formal education and training (NFET) programmes in public and private centres in South Africa aim to meet the training needs of adults who have been deprived of formal education which would have fostered skills acquisition and access to employment earlier in their lives. The concern which informs this paper is that adults who face long-term unemployment due to a lack of marketable skills often remain unemployed after completing NFET programmes. The paper assesses the extent to which material and human resources have affected skills acquisition and graduate employment in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The results show that material and human resource challenges in most public and some private centres have led to gaps in skills training. Programmes focus too strongly on academic credits and certificates and not enough on employment as an end goal. The authors argue that the existence of suitable training materials and qualified trainers with practical experience and specific technical skills constitutes favourable conditions ("enabling environments") for graduate employment. Without improvement in material and human resources, adult trainees will continue to experience difficulties integrating into the labour market, and the cycle of poverty and social exclusion will remain unbroken.

Adult non-formal education and training (NFET) in South Africa was adopted in 1990 to address the problem of unemployment of non-educated and unskilled adults. Public and private NFET centres aim to meet the training needs of adults who were deprived of formal education that would foster access to opportunities for employment. The paper reports on a study conducted to investigate what constitutes NFET enabling environments for employment. The paper focuses on the approach of training delivery fostering labour market entry of graduates. The findings show that individual trainees who participated in private centres had a higher probability of being employed because of the creation of internal enabling environments for skills acquisition and focus on income-generating activities. The authors conclude that an integration of technical skills with business skills and 'learning by earning' is a potential training delivery approach enabling graduates to participate in economic activities.

Non-formal adult education and training (NFET) in South Africa is instrumental in breaking the high level of poverty and decreasing the social inequality the country continues to face as a post-apartheid democracy. Public and private NFET centres in South Africa aim to meet the training needs of adults who have been deprived of formal education with courses which foster access to opportunities for skills acquisition and employment and bring about social and economic inclusion. However, many adults who were facing long-term unemployment due to a lack of marketable skills remain unemployed after completing NFET programmes. This paper reports on a study which investigated what constitutes favourable conditions ("internal enabling environments") for skills acquisition inside NFET centres leading to employment and how they can be improved to contribute to coordinated efforts of increasing NFET graduates' paid and/or self-employment capacities. The authors found that centres focusing on activities suitable for self-employment during training were more likely to create internal enabling environments for skills acquisition and income generation than centres offering courses designed for entering paid employment. The authors conclude that there appears to be a significant correlation between NFET centres' training programme objectives, financial resources, trainee selection criteria, the process of training needs assessment, and skills acquisition for successful employment outcomes of NFET graduates. Without these internal enabling factors, adult trainees are likely to continue finding it difficult to integrate into the labour market or participate in economic activities and hence break the cycle of poverty and social exclusion.

Purpose: There is a global concern about the effectiveness of vocational education and training (VET) programmes in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. Experiential learning (EL) is a major component of VET programmes. This article aims to examine the effects of facilitating VET through EL theory to promote youths' skills acquisition. The study looks at the effects of material resources on the use of experiential learning theory (ELT), the types of EL and the contribution of ELT to VET programmes. Design/methodology/approach: The research design mainly entails a qualitative research design and research method to allow the researcher to view the reality as is experienced from the inside out by the trainees and training centre managers on important data for a thorough understanding. The study participants were 512 young trainees who completed different training courses from the VET programmes and 24 centre managers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Findings: The findings reveal that the use of ELT in VET programmes helped the trainees to gain real-world skills, hence contributing to their empowerment in terms of work experience and competence for their future employment. Based on the findings, the study concludes that ELT is an effective instrument to promote VET programmes for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. Practical implications: The practical and social implications of the findings are that, while disadvantaged youths cannot access and afford higher education, public and private sectors can remedy their situation by providing non-school-based technical and vocational training to help such youths enter the labour market. The findings will motivate the providers of skills development for unemployed youths to use ELT in designing course curricula, planning resources and directing teaching-learning approaches to help trainees to acquire skills and competencies to perform tasks close to real-work situations. Social implications: The socio-economic implication of the article is that skills development plays an important role in poverty reduction. Investing in the skills development of citizens is vital to raise the incomes of poor groups and to reduce poverty (ILO, 2018). Although the causes of unemployment have also to do with economic factors in a country, skills development is an essential ingredient in developing capacities for labour market entry and increased income generation of a vulnerable group of people. Originality/value: The article is significant because the study provides new insights into the use of ELT in VET programmes to improve their effectiveness in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by establishing a solid base for the evidence-informed practice of the effects of facilitating the VET programme through ELT to promote skills acquisition for the employment of unemployed and disadvantaged youths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides graduates' views on teaching and learning methods for skills acquisition in adult nonformal education (NFE) centers in KwaZulu-Natal province. It analyzes how adult facilitators applied the principles of constructivist theory in teaching and assessing the learners. The researchers used a mixture of stratified and purposive sampling to select six NFE centers and twelve (out of 200) adult learners who studied skills training and became selfemployed. The data collection techniques consisted of semi-structured interviews, observation, and document analysis. The evidence from the adult learners reveals that facilitators applied the constructivist theory principles of interactive learning, collaborative learning, facilitating learning, authentic learning, and learner-centered learning while teaching and accessing the learners. The researchers conclude that in the majority of the NFE centers, the teaching and learning methods were of high quality because the training delivery encompassed practice-oriented approaches in workshops and field trip activities to businesses and companies for learners to obtain real-world experience. This article contributes to the literature by demonstrating the importance of five principles of the constructivist theory of learning and authentic assessment for effective teaching and learning in adult NFE programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, adult education and training (AET) programs are a new frontier in the process of community development and strategies to reduce poverty and social exclusion. This article focuses on how AET graduates perceived the impact of the AET programs on their living conditions after graduating, getting paid jobs, or creating their own microenterprises. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the main findings reveal that the impact of paid jobs or microenterprises on the living conditions of graduates was related to becoming self-sufficient and living with dignity after graduating. Based on the findings, the author concludes that AET programs for poor and unskilled adults can reduce social exclusion caused by unemployment and poverty and, hence, contribute to community development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship training programmes and self-employment initiatives for unemployed adults has become a new frontier for poverty reduction in South Africa. This article investigates the types of challenges graduates encounter and opportunities in accessing financial services in order to start-up and grow an own micro-enterprise in South Africa. The main findings reveal that micro-finance institutions are keen to grant loans and credits to graduates from entrepreneurial training centres. However, graduates are not eligible for credits because they fail to meet the security requirements of the lending banks due to their socio-economic situations. The author concludes that if centre managers do not involve micro-finance institutions prior to the training delivery and transition stages of the entrepreneurial training programmes, graduates will continue finding it difficult to access financial services and enter self-employment after obtaining the required entrepreneurship skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to investigate the extent to which the skills acquired from adult education and training (AET) centres, leading to paid jobs and small businesses, have enabled trainees to be successful in generating income and the impact of AET programmes on living conditions of trainees in South Africa. The main findings reveal that the improvement in income impacted on living conditions of trainees' households and in the education of their children. As a result, the majority of the trainees became self‐sufficient and had a good life after graduating. The author concludes that AET programmes for unemployed and unskilled adults can reduce poverty and social exclusion if the AET centres have a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship and post‐training support for earning wages or creating self‐employment. The present article has implications for public policy on AET, with reference to the objective of supporting the dynamics of cohesion and social inclusion, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]