Abstract
Graduates of South Africa’s National Certificate (Vocational) (NC[V]) programme continue to face significant barriers in accessing higher education and securing meaningful employment. While Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is promoted as a dual pathway to academic and occupational opportunities, many NC(V) graduates encounter institutional and societal perceptions that limit their progression. This article investigates these challenges by focusing on the experiences of 15 NC(V) graduates in the Eastern Cape. The study employed a Participatory Action Research methodology, collecting data through Learning Cycle Group Meetings and Critical Life Narrative interviews. Grounded in Freire’s humanising pedagogy, the article explores how systemic misalignments between vocational training, university admission criteria, and employer expectations restrict graduates’ agency and opportunities. The analysis highlights the disconnect between the intention of the NC(V) qualification and its reception in both academic and labour market spaces.
Contribution: The study calls for more responsive policy frameworks and practical reforms that enable meaningful progression for TVET learners. The article contributes to rethinking vocational pathways to be more inclusive, credible, and responsive to student aspirations and societal needs.
Keywords: TVET; NC(V) qualification; higher education access; labour market barriers; progression challenges; humanising pedagogy; participatory action research; articulation; vocational education.
Introduction
South Africa has made significant investments in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a strategy to address youth unemployment and equip learners with practical skills for both the workplace and further education (Allais 2012, 2025; McGrath & Akoojee 2009). Central to this effort was the introduction of the National Certificate (Vocational) (NC[V]), designed to combine theoretical knowledge with occupational competencies (Powell 2012; RSA 2014). The qualification was intended to position TVET as a credible alternative to traditional academic pathways and to support young people in navigating transitions into either higher education or the labour market.
However, the lived realities of many NC(V) graduates suggest that the qualification has not fully delivered on this promise. Despite completing the NC(V), many graduates struggle to gain admission to university programmes or secure stable employment (Lortan 2019; Ndzoyiya & Matsiliza 2022; Powell & McGrath 2019). Higher education institutions question the academic equivalence of the NC(V), while employers express doubts about the workplace readiness of its graduates (Badenhorst & Radile 2018; Scheepers & Gebhardt 2021). These challenges reflect deep-rooted issues in how vocational qualifications are articulated and valued across the education and employment sectors (Wedekind 2014).
This article explores the articulation barriers encountered by NC(V) graduates in South Africa, focusing equally on obstacles to university access and integration into the labour market. This study draws on data from 15 NC(V) graduates in the Eastern Cape and uses Participatory Action Research (PAR) methods to foreground their voices. The analysis is informed by two intersecting theoretical lenses: Paulo Freire’s humanising pedagogy and the Capabilities Approach (Sen 1999; Walker 2005). Together, these frameworks enable a critical, yet student-centred, understanding of the structural constraints that hinder progression and agency.
Addressing these barriers is essential to reimagining the role of TVET in South Africa. A more inclusive, integrated, and context-sensitive articulation framework responsive to both educational aspirations and labour market demands has the potential to expand opportunities for youth and contribute meaningfully to broader goals of social and economic transformation (Dale & Hyslop-Margison 2011; McLean & Walker 2012; Soudien 2013).
Research methods and design
This study employs a critical qualitative approach, underpinned by PAR and informed by Freire’s humanising pedagogy (Freire 1970, 1974; Freire & Horton 1990; Freire & Shor 1987). It also draws conceptually from the capabilities approach (Sen 1999; Walker & Unterhalter 2007) to frame how graduates perceive their opportunities for academic progression and employment. These dual frameworks provide a lens through which the articulation challenges of NC(V) graduates are critically examined not merely as technical constraints but as manifestations of deeper structural inequalities in the education and employment systems (Ngcwangu 2015; Powell & McGrath 2019).
Research design and rationale
The PAR was chosen for its commitment to dialogue, reflection, and action as means of generating knowledge collaboratively. This aligns with Freire’s (1970) call for education that emerges from the lived realities of the oppressed and challenges dehumanising conditions through praxis the dialectic of reflection and action. This methodological orientation enabled the co-construction of knowledge with TVET graduates who are often excluded from policy discourse, despite being directly affected by articulation failures.
Sampling and participants
The study recruited 15 NC(V) graduates from Algoa TVET College, drawn from the Gqeberha and Kariega campuses in the Eastern Cape. A combination of purposive sampling and snowball sampling was employed (Babbie & Mouton 2001; Berg 2001). Participants were selected based on their first-hand experience of post-college transitions, whether into work, entrepreneurship, or higher education, having graduated between 2010 and 2019. Initial contacts were facilitated through a fellow lecturer at the college, with additional participants identified via referrals from former students. To protect confidentiality and ethical integrity, all participants were assigned pseudonyms. As a lecturer at the college, the researcher drew on existing trust-based relationships, while ensuring no former students were recruited directly. The sample consisted of 13 women and 2 men, reflecting the available graduate pool.
Data generation methods
Two key methods were used: Learning Cycle Group (LCG) meetings and critical life narrative interviews. The LCGs served as dialogical spaces for participants to reflect on their trajectories, share insights, and explore systemic barriers to academic and labour market access. These spaces encouraged collective conscientisation, aligning with Freire’s emphasis on critical reflection as a precursor to transformation (Majola 2024).
Critical life narratives further deepened the inquiry by foregrounding participants’ personal experiences of marginalisation, resilience, and aspirations. This approach revealed how NC(V) graduates navigate systemic exclusion and develop alternative visions of success, often challenging dominant ideologies that devalue vocational pathways (Hyslop-Margison & Dale 2010; Porres 2018).
Data analysis
Thematic analysis was employed, guided by Freirean and capabilities frameworks. The data were interpreted within three interrelated themes: Challenges in higher education articulation; Barriers to labour market integration; Perceptions of NC(V) qualifications by universities and employers. These themes expose how systemic structures curtail graduates’ agency and aspirations, reinforcing unequal hierarchies between vocational and academic routes (Ngcwangu 2019; Vally & Motala 2022).
Trustworthiness and ethical considerations
To ensure credibility, participants were engaged in member checking, validating interpretations during and after the data collection process. Transferability was strengthened through rich descriptions of participant contexts, while dependability was supported by maintaining a detailed audit trail of research decisions, reflections, and changes throughout the process. Confirmability was ensured by grounding interpretations in participants’ narratives and avoiding researcher bias through reflexive journaling (Lincoln & Guba 1985). Ethically, the study was approved by the university’s research ethics committee. Informed consent was obtained, and care was taken to ensure that participants were fully aware of the study’s aims, their right to withdraw, and the transformative orientation of the research.
Positionality and reflexivity
The researcher’s insider-outsider status as a lecturer within the same institution but not directly linked to any of the participants enabled both access and reflexive distance. This positionality enriched the research process while underscoring the importance of ethical boundaries in PAR (Herr & Anderson 2016). While the study was initiated by the researcher, participants’ voices shaped the process and analysis, consistent with a transformative social justice agenda.
Theoretical framework
This study is grounded in Paulo Freire’s concept of humanising education, which serves as a critical lens through which the articulation challenges faced by TVET graduates can be examined. Freire’s humanising pedagogy emphasises the importance of education that fosters critical consciousness, enabling individuals to perceive and challenge the socio-economic structures that limit their agency and opportunities (Freire 1970, 1974). In the context of TVET, humanising education challenges the reduction of vocational training to mere technical skill acquisition without addressing broader issues of social mobility and human development (Porres 2017, 2018).
Freire’s critique of the banking model of education, which treats students as passive recipients of knowledge, is particularly relevant when considering the NC(V) qualification. The disconnection between vocational qualifications and academic pathways reflects the logic of the banking model. Within this paradigm, TVET graduates are often perceived as lacking the critical and academic competencies required for higher education (Freire 1970; Majola et al., 2024; McGrath & Akoojee 2009). This perception not only dehumanises graduates but also perpetuates a hierarchical educational system that privileges traditional academic routes over vocational pathways (Allais 2012, 2025; Powell 2012).
In contrast, a humanising approach to TVET would value the lived experiences and practical knowledge of graduates, advocating for an inclusive system that recognises diverse educational trajectories. Freire’s framework calls for a dialogical and participatory education system where vocational and academic learning are not seen as mutually exclusive but rather as complementary (Freire & Shor 1987; Porres, Wildemeersch & Simons 2014). Such an approach challenges the notion that vocational education inherently lacks rigour or critical engagement, and instead promotes a transformative model that integrates vocational training with opportunities for higher education (Powell & McGrath 2019).
Furthermore, the capabilities approach, as articulated by Amartya Sen (2000) and Martha Nussbaum (2000), offers an additional perspective to understand how articulation challenges limit TVET graduates’ agency and choices. The capabilities approach emphasises expanding individuals’ freedoms and opportunities to lead the kind of lives they value. When vocational qualifications are poorly aligned with higher education or the labour market, they limit graduates’ capabilities. In such cases, credentials do not translate into real opportunities for further study or employment (McLean & Walker 2012; Powell & McGrath 2014).
The intersection between Freire’s humanising pedagogy and the capabilities approach allows for a nuanced understanding of the disconnection between vocational qualifications and academic pathways. As noted by Powell (2021), orienting vocational education towards human capabilities rather than solely employability fosters a more inclusive and transformative educational framework. This perspective resonates with the work of McGrath and Lugg (2012), who emphasise the importance of linking skills development with broader social outcomes rather than merely focusing on economic imperatives.
Moreover, studies have shown that the failure to adequately articulate TVET qualifications with higher education institutions perpetuates inequality, as graduates are often seen as less academically prepared or lacking critical competencies (Nkonki & Makura 2017; Norodien-Fataar 2024). Scholars such as Allais and Marock (2024) further argue that vocational qualifications often fail to address the structural inequities inherent in the labour market, leading to limited opportunities for TVET graduates. Drawing on Freire’s humanising pedagogy and the capabilities approach, this study shows how poor articulation between vocational and academic pathways reinforces inequality and constrains graduates’ potential. It argues for a more integrated educational framework that aligns TVET with the broader higher education landscape, fostering a culture of inclusivity, agency, and empowerment for TVET graduates (Ed. Jansen 2002; Powell 2014).
Ethical considerations
Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained from the Nelson Mandela University Research Ethics Committee (reference no: H21-EDU-PGE-021).
Presentation of findings
Perceived devaluation of National Certificate (Vocational) qualifications
A recurring sentiment among participants was that the NC(V) qualification is not valued by employers, especially in comparison to other vocational or academic pathways. Despite the NC(V)’s intention to provide practical and technical competence, participants often encountered a labour market that dismissed the qualification outright:
‘I am very much frustrated because I didn’t get an internship and didn’t get any job with my NC(V) qualification.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
This statement reflects a common sentiment among graduates that despite their efforts and completion of the qualification, they are not recognised as employable. A similar frustration was voiced by another participant:
‘I finished NC(V) Level 4 Finance in 2017, and then in 2018, I looked for work. I was willing to take anything that was going to come up … But the mission I haven’t accomplished yet is getting a job.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
These experiences point to a larger structural devaluation of the NC(V) qualification. Another participant added:
‘Maybe it’s not TVET college as such but rather NC(V) business programmes; as long as you have NC(V) qualification from the business programmes, then it’s harder for you to be employed compared to someone who may have studied office admin up until N6 or maybe even went to varsity.’ (LCG meeting A2, 06 November 2021)
Participants’ accounts suggest that employers often see the NC(V) as inferior, which undermines its intended function as a work-ready qualification (Eds. Allais & Shalem 2018; Majola 2024; Majola et al. 2024). This theme points to the need for rethinking how vocational qualifications are positioned and legitimised in the employment sector.
Frustration with articulation pathways
In the LCG meetings, graduates described ongoing struggles to articulate into meaningful employment or further education, despite their qualifications. TVET graduates’ lived experiences reveal the impact of this exclusion. One participant expressed deep disillusionment:
‘For now, I don’t have hope; the hope I had when I completed my NC(V) Level 4 course is gone. The only thing I am focusing on now is returning to TVET College next year to do NATED qualification. The universities are not willing to accept the TVET qualification. You cannot find employment, and you cannot go to university with it. I thought I achieved something when I graduated from NC(V), but I don’t know anymore.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
This statement highlights how the supposed mobility offered by the NC(V) qualification becomes a dead end when universities refuse to recognise it. Returning to TVET for an additional qualification, despite having already completed one, underscores the unfulfilled promise of academic progression through the TVET pathway.
Another graduate shared the same sentiments:
‘Then I thought if I have a diploma or a higher qualification, maybe I’ll be hired, but going to university with your TVET qualification is seemingly impossible. You are required to produce a lot of things. Most of us have come to accept that going to university is not for us TVET students, but going back to college for another qualification like N4 and N5, and hope for the best to find employment with that.’ (Participant XVM, 14 October, 2021)
This sense of resignation shows how rigid university admission criteria reinforce a perception of educational inadequacy, forcing students to pursue further qualifications within the TVET system rather than accessing higher education.
Another graduate highlighted the emotional toll of the NC(V) qualification’s lack of acceptance:
‘After receiving this qualification, I thought I had achieved something, but I find it very hard to believe that some universities do not accept the subjects we did at the college, which makes it hard to get into university, let alone to find employment.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
This sense of betrayal highlights the contrast between the rhetoric of skills development and the reality of systemic marginalisation. Instead of being a bridge to higher education or employment, the NC(V) qualification becomes a symbol of inadequacy, eroding graduates’ confidence.
Epistemological bias and structural inequities
The current configuration of the NC(V) curriculum perpetuates the hierarchy between vocational and academic qualifications (Appendix 1). Conceived as a hybrid of vocational skills and academic content, the NC(V) is still perceived as inferior because of its misalignment with the theoretical and abstract demands of university curricula. Instead of addressing the real-world complexities faced by TVET graduates, the curriculum remains rooted in an outdated logic that privileges formal academic knowledge over practical skills. Despite South Africa’s stated commitment to inclusive and humanising education, the persistence of these hierarchies reflects a deeper failure to dismantle oppressive epistemic structures (Allais 2012; McGrath & Akoojee 2009).
This systemic exclusion is not merely theoretical, it is deeply felt in the lived realities of NC(V) graduates. One participant captured this frustration and disillusionment, stating:
‘It feels unfair that universities don’t acknowledge or accept the subjects we studied at TVET college. It blocks our chances of furthering our education, and without that, we remain trapped in poverty.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
This statement captures the profound disconnect between the perceived purpose of the NC(V) qualification and its practical utility. The promise of academic articulation and socio-economic mobility remains largely unfulfilled, leaving graduates questioning the value of their qualifications.
Similarly, another participant expressed their disappointment at the gap between expectation and reality:
‘I was excited that I had an opportunity to get an education through TVET, and it would lift me out of poverty when I graduated because I could get a job. However, it is not happening. I have a qualification, but I cannot get a job since graduation in 2017, and I cannot use the qualification to go to university to increase my opportunities for employment. What is that?’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
This testimony poignantly highlights the disillusionment that arises when the symbolic value of an NC(V) qualification fails to translate into tangible socio-economic benefits. Although intended to bridge the gap between vocational training and higher education or employment, the NC(V) instead perpetuates cycles of marginalisation (Mabunda & Frick 2020).
Furthermore, the experiences of the participants indicate systemic disconnects between what the NC(V) promises and what it delivers in practice. Participants stated:
‘Through this research initiative, we must talk with Algoa TVET College that they should recognise NC(V) level 4 graduates as they do with the N6 … There must be job opportunities for level 4.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
This sentiment also illustrates how even within TVET colleges, internal hierarchies exacerbate graduates’ exclusion. One participant offered a sobering reflection:
‘I obtained a qualification, but I have been unable to find a job since graduating in 2019. I also cannot use the qualification to gain admission to a university to improve my employment prospects. Moreover, Algoa TVET College, which is supposed to support us in this transition, seems to favour those with N6 qualifications for available internships, forcing me to re-enrol at the college.
Another participant further indicated:
‘You find out the emails about the internships are only sent out to the N6 graduates, not NC(V) Level 4 graduates, which means with your Level 4, you cannot qualify for the internship from the college or the employers that partner with the college.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
The participants’ frustration reveals a critical mismatch between institutional aspirations for the NC(V) and the real opportunities available to graduates. This misalignment has implications for how articulation is conceptualised and operationalised within the post-school education and training system.
Disillusionment and resigned acceptance
Many participants expressed a deep sense of disillusionment, having entered the NC(V) stream with high hopes of upliftment and social mobility, only to be met with exclusion and unfulfilled expectations. Their reflections point not only to emotional fatigue and a loss of confidence but also to an internalisation of failure:
‘It is hard even to think that you have your NC(V) qualification, you went to college for 4 years, but you cannot find work.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
Such sentiments are not merely personal grievances, they are expressions of thwarted agency and constrained futures. These frustrations point to systemic injustices rather than individual shortcomings. Participants’ reflections reveal how the promise of vocational education as a pathway to empowerment often collapses under the weight of poor recognition and weak articulation, as documented by Mabunda and Frick (2020), Lortan and Maistry (2018), Lortan (2019), Ndzoyiya and Matsiliza (2022), among others:
‘I had hoped this [qualification] would empower me to get a job. I have an education I received from TVET College, and I expected that when I completed the course, I would get to work. However, when you get NC(V) level 4 certificate, you will not necessarily get a job.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
‘I had hoped that I would get a job when I completed the course … However, when you get NC(V) level 4 certificate, you will not necessarily get a job.’ (LCG meeting A1, 16 October 2021)
The repetition of such sentiments signals more than disappointment, it reveals a persistent structural disconnect between qualifications and labour market realities. Graduates who hoped to transform their lives through education instead find themselves excluded from both employment and further study. The psychosocial toll of this exclusion is significant, eroding graduates’ sense of self-worth and possibility:
‘So, I do not regret doing it, and I feel capacitated because at least even my mentality about life after high school has improved. However, my main challenge as an NC(V) graduate is a lack of employment. I fail to understand whether this NC(V) certificate is meaningful because it cannot lead me to work or university opportunities, which empowers me. Look, I have a family expecting me to get a job to change their lives, but this is not happening; we are still struggling. For now, the education I have received hasn’t helped me achieve my dreams and change my life and my family’s circumstances; we still suffer a lack of necessities to live life like other families.’ (Participant CBZ, 02 November, 2021)
This powerful testimony illustrates the layered impact of exclusion economic, social, and emotional. The NC(V)’s inability to serve as a bridge to employment or higher education undermines the very logic of vocational training as a means of emancipation. Instead, what emerges is a form of credentialism that reinforces social stratification, where practical, skills-based knowledge is devalued in a system still dominated by abstract, academic epistemologies (ed. Jansen 2002; Soudien 2013).
Discussion
The articulation challenges faced by TVET graduates in South Africa are symptomatic of a global educational hierarchy that privileges academic knowledge while systematically devaluing vocational education (Allais 2025). These challenges are not merely technical oversights but are rooted in deeply embedded socio-political and historical inequalities (Nkomo 2012; Vally & Motala 2014, 2022). As Freire (1970) cautioned, educational systems that sustain rigid hierarchies ultimately dehumanise learners by denying their agency and potential for critical reflection and transformation. In this context, the disjuncture between the NC(V) and university admission requirements, combined with the poor recognition of the qualification for employment, is not merely a procedural flaw. It reflects the enduring perception that vocational learning is inferior and undeserving of academic equivalence.
The findings in this study reveal how this misalignment restricts TVET graduates’ mobility, marginalising them both in higher education and the labour market. Participants’ experiences underscore a lived sense of exclusion, both structurally and symbolically, as they encounter systemic barriers that deny recognition of their qualifications. These accounts align with Allais’s (2011, 2019, 2025) and Kraak’s (2004) critiques that articulation policy in South Africa often reproduces the very inequalities it claims to address. The system thus becomes complicit in perpetuating a stratified educational order that reserves academic pathways for the elite while relegating vocational routes to those deemed less capable.
Drawing on Freire’s notion of education as a practice of freedom, the failure to integrate vocational qualifications into higher education frameworks not only obstructs mobility but also constitutes a form of epistemic violence. It undermines human agency by invalidating vocational knowledge as a legitimate form of intellectual engagement (Porres 2018, 2022). At the same time, the capabilities approach (Nussbaum 2000; Sen 2000) allows us to see this articulation gap as a curtailment of freedom limiting graduates’ ability to make meaningful life choices and participate fully in social and economic life.
Importantly, the findings also illuminate how students themselves engage in critical reflection and resist passive victimhood. Several participants expressed frustration not only with structural barriers but with the deeper symbolic message that their learning was not valued. This frustration reflects an emergent critical consciousness what Freire (1974) described as the first step towards transformative praxis. However, without structural support and policy intervention, such consciousness remains constrained, unable to translate into tangible upward mobility.
From structural diagnosis to practical intervention
To move beyond a mere diagnosis of the challenges faced by TVET graduates, it is imperative to transform critical insights into actionable policy reforms. Drawing from Freire’s humanising pedagogy and the capabilities approach, several targeted interventions can serve as crucial entry points for systemic change. One key intervention is the piloting of alternative admission portfolios for NC(V) graduates, particularly in faculties like education, engineering, or social sciences. These portfolios, as suggested by Allais (2011) and Powell (2012), could include a combination of skills assessments, project-based work, and reflective narratives. These would effectively demonstrate the vocational competencies of students in alignment with the academic expectations of universities. Furthermore, as part of an ongoing commitment to reimagining the articulation system, the establishment of annual articulation forums involving representatives from TVET colleges, universities, and qualification bodies such as Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is essential. These forums could co-design tailored admission strategies and bridging programmes, thereby fostering closer collaboration between stakeholders (Allais & Marock 2024; Allais & Ngcwangu 2025; Allais & Wedekind 2020).
Furthermore, universities and TVET colleges should jointly track and publish the admission and success rates of TVET graduates to highlight patterns of inclusion or exclusion, thus promoting transparency and accountability in the articulation process (Ngcwangu 2019). These actions align with the ideas put forward by McGrath and Lugg (2012), who emphasise the importance of integrating vocational education and training into broader societal goals, including equitable access to higher education. Finally, moving beyond rhetorical appeals, these recommendations offer concrete steps to incrementally transform the articulation landscape, ensuring that the aspirations of TVET graduates are met with tangible opportunities for academic and social mobility. By doing so, it is possible to bridge the gap between vocational education and higher learning, empowering graduates to achieve their full potential while contributing to the broader goals of transformation and social justice outlined in the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training (RSA 2014).
Reimagining curriculum and pedagogy
The findings also suggest the need for curricular innovation within TVET. Embedding critical pedagogy into vocational programmes could shift the emphasis from narrow technical training to broader critical engagement. As McLean and Walker (2012) argue, aligning TVET with the capabilities approach means designing curricula that develop learners’ agency, voice, and adaptability preparing them not only for work but also for active citizenship.
Such transformation must also occur at the institutional interface between universities and TVET colleges. Universities, for example, could offer bridging programmes co-developed with TVET lecturers and students to facilitate smoother transitions. These initiatives would not only improve articulation but also serve to dismantle elitist assumptions about academic superiority by valuing diverse knowledge systems.
Towards a humanising and decolonial technical and vocational education and training system
This article suggests that any serious attempt to address articulation must confront the colonial legacies that continue to shape South African education. As Jansen (ed. 2002) and Soudien (2013) observe, university cultures often remain anchored in Eurocentric epistemologies, which render vocational knowledge invisible or irrelevant. A truly decolonised articulation policy would not simply incorporate TVET into the existing university logic but would challenge that logic itself, validating community-based, practice-oriented, and experiential forms of knowing, as documented by Balwanz and Hlatshwayo (2016).
This reconfiguration aligns with Freire’s vision of a humanising pedagogy and resonates with the capabilities approach, which insists that education must expand, not limit people’s substantive freedoms. It is not enough to open access if that access leads to continued marginality (Powell 2021; Powell & McGrath 2019). Articulation, in this sense, must be about more than movement; justice, aligning with the propositions made by Lortan and Maistry (2018), Lortan (2019), Ndzoyiya and Matsiliza (2022), among others.
Bridging vision and action
While this study advocates for systemic transformation, it also recognises the difficulty of achieving radical change in a highly stratified and policy-driven landscape. However, change must begin somewhere. By implementing pilot initiatives, creating dialogue platforms, and fostering collaborative curriculum development, stakeholders can begin to realign South Africa’s TVET and higher education systems towards equity and inclusion. The task is not merely to fix articulation, but to reimagine it so that vocational and academic learning are no longer perceived as opposites, but as co-constitutive pathways towards human development.
Recommendations
To address the persistent articulation challenges faced by TVET graduates, particularly those with NC(V) qualification, higher education institutions and policymakers should pilot alternative admission pathways. These could include Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and portfolio-based applications that value diverse forms of knowledge and lived experience. Collaborative forums involving universities, TVET colleges, and quality assurance bodies should be established to co-design flexible and context-responsive articulation mechanisms. In addition, targeted bridging programmes that focus on academic preparedness, digital literacy and psychosocial support must be developed in partnership with students, aligning with both Freirean and capabilities-driven pedagogies. Policy reforms should move beyond narrow compliance frameworks to foreground student agency, voice, and transformation. Universities must not only open access but also provide inclusive and sustained support systems that enable TVET graduates to thrive academically and socially within higher education.
Limitations
This study was conducted with a relatively small group of NC(V) graduates from a single TVET college in the Eastern Cape, which limits the generalisability of the findings. Although their experiences offer valuable insights into systemic barriers, this study does not include perspectives from university admissions officers or institutional gatekeepers, who play a key role in determining access. As a result, the analysis may not fully capture the institutional logics or policies that underpin articulation constraints between TVET and university systems.
Future research
Future studies should broaden the geographic and institutional scope by including participants from multiple TVET colleges and universities across South Africa. This would help explore regional differences in how articulation pathways are structured and experienced. Including the perspectives of university officials, especially those involved in admissions and curriculum planning, would provide deeper insight into the criteria and assumptions shaping access for NC(V) graduates. Future research could also investigate how collaboration, such as joint curriculum development or co-teaching models between TVET colleges and universities might be strengthened to improve articulation. Longitudinal and comparative studies would be particularly valuable in tracking the evolving aspirations, transitions, and employment outcomes of NC(V) graduates over time.
Conclusion
This article has critically examined the articulation challenges faced by South African NC(V) TVET graduates, arguing that these challenges are neither accidental nor merely administrative, but structural expressions of an unequal education system that continues to privilege academic knowledge and marginalise vocational pathways. Drawing on a Freirean framework and the capabilities approach, the study has shown how these systemic exclusions limit graduates’ agency, deny their freedom to pursue meaningful educational and occupational opportunities, and reinforce a stratified post-school system.
The narratives of the participants illustrate a lived experience of exclusion, frustration, and diminished hope yet also moments of reflection and nascent resistance. These accounts underscore the urgent need to reimagine articulation not simply as a technical fix, but as a justice-oriented project that affirms vocational knowledge, values diverse learner pathways, and expands real opportunities for life and livelihood.
While the findings point to deep-seated structural barriers, they also reveal possibilities for transformation. The article has proposed several concrete interventions such as piloting alternative admission portfolios, convening articulation forums, and co-developing bridging programmes that could serve as catalysts for systemic change. These are not final solutions, but important steps towards realising a post-school system that is inclusive, equitable, and enabling of lifelong learning and social mobility.
A humanising articulation process must reject the binary between academic and vocational learning and instead cultivate a space where all learners are recognised as capable, critical, and worthy of educational and social advancement. As Freire reminds us, education must always be a practice of freedom and it is only by centring the voices, experiences, and aspirations of the marginalised that such freedom becomes possible.
Acknowledgements
This study acknowledges the contribution made by the research participants, during the data generation. The understanding and also through the application of ethics, the researchers agreed not to mention the actual names of the research participants.
Competing interest
The author declares that she has no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced her in writing this article.
Author’s contribution
E.M. is the sole author of this research article.
Funding information
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data availability
The data supporting this study were generated through Learning Circle Group (LCG) meetings and life narrative interviews conducted by the author. No external datasets were used. Because of the sensitive and personal nature of the data collected, they are not publicly available to protect participant’s confidentiality.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and are the product of professional research. It does not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated institution, funder, agency, or that of the publisher. The author is responsible for this article’s results, findings and content.
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Appendix 1
Epistemological bias and structural inequities
“Rather than addressing the real-world complexities faced by TVET graduates, the curriculum remains trapped in an outdated logic that privileges formal academic knowledge while sidelining practical skills.”
- Suggested edit: “Instead of addressing the real-world complexities faced by TVET graduates, the curriculum remains rooted in an outdated logic that privileges formal academic knowledge over practical skills.”
- Reason: Strengthens contrast and clarity.
“It underscores how the NC(V), while intended to bridge the gap between vocational training and higher education or employment (Mabunda & Frick 2020), instead perpetuates cycles of marginalisation.”
- Suggested edit: “Although intended to bridge the gap between vocational training and higher education or employment, the NC(V) instead perpetuates cycles of marginalisation (Mabunda & Frick 2020).”
- Reason: Improves logical flow.
“Moreover Aloga TVET which is supposed to help us to navigate this transition seemingly only favours people with N6 qualification, for the internships available to them, which has now forced me to enrol back to the college.”
- Suggested edit: “Moreover, Algoa TVET College, which is supposed to support us in this transition, seems to favour those with N6 qualifications for available internships, forcing me to re-enrol at the college.”
- Reason: Corrects punctuation, improves fluency and conciseness. Also fixes the spelling of “Algoa”.
Disillusionment and resigned acceptance
- 4. “Such sentiments are not merely personal grievances they are expressions of thwarted agency and constrained futures.”
- Suggested edit: “These sentiments are more than personal grievances; they express thwarted agency and constrained futures.”
- Reason: Enhances parallelism and readability.
- 5. “Look, I have a family expecting me to get a job to change their lives, but this is not happening; we are still struggling.”
- Suggested edit: “I have a family that expects me to find employment and improve our situation, but that has not happened—we are still struggling.”
- Reason: More formal tone suitable for academic writing.
General notes
- Consistency in Spelling: Double-check whether you’re using “NC(V)” or “NC(V)” throughout. Choose one form and be consistent unless the variation is intentional for clarity.
- Punctuation and Flow: A few long sentences could benefit from being broken up for clarity.
- Quotations: Consider light edits to quotations only where clarity is compromised. Preserve the authenticity of participants’ voices as much as possible.
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