Purpose: The persistent shortage of skilled labour and unemployment have made learnership programmes a vital policy instrument for workforce development and socio-economic inclusion. Despite an extensive legislative and institutional framework supporting their implementation in South Africa, concerns persist about the limited effectiveness of these programmes in meeting industry skills demands. This study investigates the systemic constraints that undermine the implementation and effectiveness of construction learnership programmes in South Africa, with particular focus on the gap between policy intent and actual practice.
Design/Methodology/Approach: A descriptive research approach was employed, utilising a structured questionnaire administered to key stakeholders within the construction skills development ecosystem, including employers, training providers, and industry practitioners.
Findings: Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify underlying dimensions of systemic constraints affecting learnership performance. Descriptive analysis revealed that limited collaboration among stakeholders, limited access to information, and limited government support are the top-ranked barriers. The EFA results identified five primary constraint clusters, which are systemic and interrelated rather than isolated, contributing to persistent learnership underperformance.
Originality/Value: Collectively, these challenges undermine the capacity of construction learnerships to provide sustainable skills development and meaningful employment pathways. This study contributes to the construction education and training discourse by providing empirical evidence of multilevel constraints affecting learnership effectiveness in a developing country context. Practically, the findings highlight the need for strengthened inter-institutional collaboration, enhanced industry incentives, curriculum alignment with evolving construction practices, and robust quality assurance mechanisms. Addressing these systemic barriers is essential to translate learnership policy ambitions into effective practice and to support the development of a resilient and sustainable construction workforce in South Africa and similar economies.
