Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/296187 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET) [ISSN:] 2197-8646 [Volume:] 11 [Issue:] 2 [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 223-249
Publisher: 
European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, Bremen
Abstract: 
Context: Faced with deep challenges with access to formal education, many West African countries are increasingly taking steps to reform their informal apprenticeship systems to make them a quality skills development alternative for their teeming youth. A review of the literature shows that although different countries in the region are deploying different reform strategies, what is emerging as a dominant reform model is the "dual training model" (DTM), a collaborative arrangement in which the task of training apprentices is shared between informal trainers (master craftspersons, under their respective trade associations) and formal vocational training institutions (FVTIs). This paper presents an outcome-process evaluation of a DTM-based apprenticeship reform programme piloted in Ghana. Methods: Designed as a case study, the paper adopts an interpretivist approach, relying on diverse sources of data, both secondary and primary. Secondary data includes journal articles, attendance registers of participants, memorandums of understanding, relevant media reports, websites, and official reports by all relevant actors. The primary data originated from in-depth interviews with fourteen (14) key informants, as well as from overt and covert observations of respondents. Results: At the outcome level, the paper shows that the programme has largely failed in transferring new skills or in changing dominant poor practices among trainees, foundational objectives of the programme. At the process level, the paper revealed deep flaws in implementation; these are discussed in detail in an attempt to clarify the programme outcomes. Conclusion: The paper concludes that although the dual training model remains a potentially viable reform model in informal apprenticeships, its success ultimately depends on the quality of implementation, which in turn depends on the strength and quality of inter-stakeholder collaboration in programme design and implementation.
Subjects: 
Apprenticeship Reforms
Dual Training Model
Informal Apprenticeship
VET
Vocational Education and Training
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-sa Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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