Institutional and Resource Constraints Shaping Entrepreneurial Effectiveness in Agricultural Learnerships
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.668Keywords:
Learnership Programmes, Entrepreneurial Effectiveness, Institutional Theory, Resource-Based View, Vocational EntrepreneurshipAbstract
Agricultural learnership programmes form a central component of South Africa’s skills development system and are intended to enhance employability and entrepreneurial participation in resource-constrained rural contexts. This study examines how institutional and resource conditions shape the translation of acquired competencies into entrepreneurial effectiveness within an agricultural learnership programme in the Eastern Cape. The study draws on the qualitative strand of a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, based on twelve semi-structured interviews with institutional stakeholders, training providers, host employers, and programme participants, analysed using thematic analysis. The findings identify three interrelated mechanisms influencing post-training trajectories: institutional mandate boundaries that limit continuity beyond certification, financial and infrastructural resource constraints that restrict enterprise activation, and programme design features that create temporal misalignment between training completion and business incubation. The results indicate that competence acquisition does not directly translate into entrepreneurial outcomes but is mediated by governance structures and access to complementary resources. The study conceptualises entrepreneurial effectiveness as a systems-level outcome and identifies the need for improved coordination, extended post-training support, and alignment between training timelines and enterprise development processes.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Thando Raymond Nxele, Charles Tony Ngwenya (Author)
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