From Passive Recipients to Active Agents

Learners are often the last to be consulted in international vocational education reform, yet they are the first to experience its shortcomings. In the construction sector across West Africa, young people are expected to perform as skilled workers despite training that frequently fails to connect theoretical instruction with practical application. This paper critically examines how learners respond to fragmented dual vocational education systems, especially in contexts where donor-supported structures have deteriorated following project withdrawal. Drawing on a gender-disaggregated cross-sectional survey of 161 learners (122 male and 39 female) enrolled at a public technical institute in southern Ghana that was initially supported through German development cooperation, the study explores how learners navigate systems in which dual training exists more in form than in function. Using the concept of bounded agency, the research demonstrates that learners construct alternative learning pathways by securing informal attachments, relying on peer networks, and developing self-directed career strategies. While male learners report higher levels of confidence in workplace transitions, female learners face more significant barriers in gaining access to sites, receiving mentorship, and having their skills recognised. These findings reveal gendered asymmetries in the learner experience and expose the deeper limitations of donor-driven training models. Learners’ informal coping strategies do not represent disengagement from the dual system but instead reflect intentional adaptation in the face of structural neglect. This suggests that fragmented training systems do not erase learner ambition but shift the burden of coordination onto young people themselves. The study concludes that recurring issues such as weak employer engagement, symbolic certification, and gendered exclusion are not incidental but symptomatic of transfer logics that fail to sustain local ownership. It calls for institutional reforms that include learner-centred accountability, gender-sensitive placement strategies, and sustained private sector participation that extends beyond the donor cycle.