Training Impact Assessment of the Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute Learnership Programme

Abstract

The study assessed the impact of the Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute Learnership Programme in terms of the knowledge, skills, employability and empowerment of graduates. A structured questionnaire captured responses from 46% of graduates of the National Certificate in Animal or Plant Production Learnership Programme in the Overberg region of the Western Cape on their perception of the impact of theoretical (in-class) and practical (on-the-job) training on their knowledge, skills and employability. A limited number of interviews with farmers who hosted the graduates provided an industry perspective on the skills and employability of the graduates. The findings revealed that graduates were satisfied with the theoretical and practical components of the Learnership Programme and agreed that the programme equipped them with skills and knowledge that could be applied in the workplace. Responses from farmers and farm managers were more ambivalent in confirming that in-class training sufficiently prepared learners for the workplace, and they proposed that skills be taught on the job during the practical component. The study concluded that the Learnership Programme contributed to learners' personal and professional development and recommended that the modules' practical and theoretical content and timing be better aligned with the industry's expectations.