Learner Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Skills Development: Insights from Schools in the Blouberg Local Municipality in Limpopo Province

Learner Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Skills Development: Insights from Schools in the Blouberg Local Municipality in Limpopo Province

Rankakane Ngadi Pertunia & Morwe Keamogetse Gladness

Issue: Vol. 6 No. 12 2025 Article 7 pp. 1330 – 1344
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256127 | Published online 30th December, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

Entrepreneurship training and education are gaining significant attention globally, with many organisations preparing young people for the changing socioeconomic conditions that affect them. The study, therefore, analyses the learners’ perspectives on the entrepreneurship training that a youth development organisation provides. This study used a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews as a data collection technique to elicit insights from learners in selected schools in Blouberg Local Municipality in Limpopo Province. The sample of participants comprised learners from four schools participating in the Enke Make Your Mark Programme for youth development. These data collection processes allowed learners to reflect on their learning journey within the youth development programme on entrepreneurship. The findings revealed that learners gain valuable skills in entrepreneurship. However, they are unable to utilise the skills gained through the program due to a lack of access to resources and support, and mentorship, which also limits the programme to focus on real-world application. These findings inform the need for a more effective programme training design that incorporates practical hands-on activities while providing mentorship and addressing resource limitations. This study provides evidence on how the prevalence of entrepreneurial training in schools can shape learners’ career pathways.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Skills, Skills Development, Youth, Youth Development

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AUTHOR(S)

Ms. Rankakane Ngadi Pertunia is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Youth in Development, University of Venda, South Africa. She works as a part-time lecturer at the same department and previously worked as a facilitator and assessor at TSP College in Giyani, South Africa. She holds a Master of Arts (Youth in Development) and a Bachelor of Arts (Youth in Development). Her research interests include youth development, student work-integrated learning, entrepreneurship education, youth entrepreneurship, and teenage parenthood. She also has research interests in decolonial and less conventional research methods, which led to her conducting studies using creative and arts-based methods in youth development programmes.

Dr. Keamogetse Gladness Morwe is an Erasmus Mundus alumnus and a senior lecturer in the Department of Youth in Development at the University of Venda in South Africa. She is a double Doctor, specialising in Legal and Social Sciences- Sobresaliente (University of Málaga-Spain) and Higher Education Studies (University of the Free State, South Africa). Dr Morwe has extensive experience in the higher education sector and boasts an excellent portfolio in teaching, research, and community engagement. Dr Morwe’s research interests include decolonial research methods, youth studies, higher education, student activism and violence, and wellbeing. Her passion for decolonial research methods led Dr Morwe and colleagues to facilitate academies on photovoice and the world café for early-career and emerging researchers as part of the Advancing Critical University Studies Across Africa (ACUSAfrica) conferences.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Pertunia, Rankakane Ngadi, and Morwe Keamogetse Gladness. “Learner Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Skills Development: Insights from Schools in the Blouberg Local Municipality in Limpopo Province.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 6, no. 12 (2025): 1330 – 1344. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256127.